NEWT Gingrich, former Speaker of the US House of Representatives and once a presidential hopeful, wrote on April 29 a revealing commentary in the digital publication, Newsweek, on the need for the US to change its non-threatening view of the People’s Republic of China.
It reads: “We must accept that the Chinese have a deep commitment to being Chinese—not Western—and to keeping their society a Leninist one. They have no interest in American-style openness or in political evolution away from their current system.”
I can only agree with Gingrich. While China has thrived economically using tools of capitalism, its political and ideological systems are firmly grounded on communism. Democratic-style election is non-existent with the iron-grip hold of a single party, the Communist Party of China. Knowing the threats of outside forces, the Xi-Li Administration in 2013 circulated to party members Document Number Nine “to tighten control of the ideological sphere in China to ensure the supreme leadership of the Communist Party will not be challenged by Western influences.”
Gone are the days of China supporting armed struggles of communists such as the Communist Party of the Philippines. According to Gingrich, “China will use this (non-confrontational) tactic to dramatically expand its size. This perfectly fits the Sun Tzu model of success without fighting.” The continuing expansion of China with the construction of artificial islands and by appeasement through grants, loans and investments is actually a demonstration of weaponizing diplomacy. The strategy contrasts with the US shock-and-awe approach in wars against perceived enemies and the Big Brother mentality in its relationship with allies and smaller states.
Gingrich also believes that another battleground for world domination is technology. The US currently rules cyberspace (think Android and Apple’s proprietary iOS), but not for long. There are only five companies offering 5G advanced wireless systems, namely Huawei, ZTE, Nokia, Samsung and Ericsson. The first two are Chinese, while the rest are Finnish, South Korean and Swedish. None from the US. Should China dominate cyberspace (already it is on the verge of releasing its own smartphone OS), Gingrich claims “that would be the largest economic and strategic defeat we’ve suffered in generations.”
There is a war going on and China is nearly holding the upper hand. The US and the rest of the world must realize that now. Otherwise, we will be speaking Chinese and using Renminbi as currency, earlier than expected.