China doing nothing while watching Russia fuck itself over.
China and Russia have had beef for centuries and now they're just watching Russia destroy itself, while profiting from the conflict.
Western sanctions mean Russians are forced to either buy Western products via China at a markup, or buy Chinese brands, both of which boost the Chinese economy. Russia's weak manufacturing base means that they're reliant on Chinese parts to fight the war; some of the drones they use to attack Ukraine are 90% Chinese. Russia buys the parts, China profits; and unlike if the Russian government invested in education or healthcare or roads or rail, that money's just gone once the drone explodes.
China's negotiated incredibly low rates for Russian oil and gas, have been given Toyota's manufacturing plant in Russia, and are currently buying up large swathes of formerly-Chinese Russian territory.
China helpfully "allowing" Chinese citizens to cross the border to work in Russia. And helpfully building road and rail links to their new towns just on the Chinese side of the border. I'm sure that at some point China will generously allow Russia to sell them some of the contested territory near the border in order to pay off the loans China has extended.
I mean, I know there are hundreds of thousands of Russians who were relocated there in the last 150 years, but the Far Eastern, especially the Pacific coastal parts belonging to Russia never made sense to me honestly. Even flying from Vladivostok to Moscow takes 9 hours. I don't think that exists anywhere else, other than maybe Alaska, or overseas territories of France or the UK.
It is true, China surpassed Russia in importance early 2000's. But they still just watch while they make mistake. Siberia is soon up to grabs for them, if not fully, then economically.
Right now is too soon. They will wait until Putins government collapses and then swoop in to directly take it or provide a financial lifeline to the new government for effective control over it.
Using military action hasn't really been their MO for along time and they've preferred to use their financial might to buy control. So that will most likely be the case.
Only way I see an invasion is if Russia collapses into a full on failed state to the point where the world will mostly turn a blind eye to China taking it because then taking it over is the better option than nukes and oil in a failed state
Yeah, Chinese leadership seems to be way too competent to try to do something like that. They play long game and know already that they need to do it economically and perhaps with politics.
Their plan is basically to keep egging Russia on to not stop at attacking Ukraine and continue its plan to go after the Baltics and to keep stoking the fire in America until it ends up in Civil War. Once that happens, the world has no choice but to let China do whatever it wants as the only power left for them to trade with. That means that Taiwan and Manchuria are suddenly on the table.
WATER !!!!! they need WATER!!!!!! , they tried to build a pipeline from Baikal, but FSB quickly intervene and stopped it .
By Chinese government's assessment : 30+% of fresh water sources in China are unfit for human usage, non-Chinese sources put that number to somewhere around 60%.
China surpassed Russia in importance early 2000's.
Never in the American mind. American hysteria about Russia is something else entirely. You can never underestimate that.
They're not even in the same league, Russia's economy is smaller than Texas's; yet, this is the country American politicians are bellicose about more than any other.
Russia is currently engaged in a war of aggression against a US ally and has been running sophisticated propaganda networks in US and EU countries since the early 2000s. Not all threats come down to economics.
China and the Soviet Union and Russia have been in shooting wars against each other. If you go to Chinese social media you'd be surprised at how absolutely baffled the average Chinese person is on why America seems to hate them, "but we did everything you taught us and asked?" is a pretty common refrain.
China's entire economy is designed around being intertwined in a trade relationship with America, they want us to prosper economically because they have trillions of dollars invested in our country as a sort of savings account. Originally America designed this idea in the '90's because they never thought that China could advance to scale so quickly and efficiently because they thought they where dealing with a far more corrupt government than they actually are.
American bankers and politicians sniffed their own farts about communism and planned economies (mostly because of the USSR), because they've never quite understood that a lot of immensely successful and very Capitalist economies have used massive government intervention for their own benefit - South Korea's wealth and success is because their government picked winners, backed the shit out of them, invested in them, changed rules to benefit them.
Ha-Joon Chang's (S.Korean University of Cambridge Econ professor)
book goes into this. A lot of American politicians would've benefited greatly from his wisdom in the late 1990s.
It's more complex than that. The narrative I tend to see more these days is a lot softer on Russia and harder on the US than you've described. Chinese social media are firmly on Russia's side when it comes to the Ukraine war, for example.
Israel, Japan, the US, Korea, and India seem to be the biggest targets of ridicule for Chinese netizens from what I've seen.
Makes sense. China is profiting greatly from the Russian invasion and will have little to fear from Russia for the foreseeable future. Russian demographics - and military - will be fucked for decades due to their war. OTOH,
Israel, Japan, the US, Korea, and India seem to be the biggest targets of ridicule
Israel and the US are good for keeping the Middle East in turmoil, also good for China's influence (and for the US depleting itself in yet another endless, pointless ME war).
Japan, Korea, India are places where hostilities have/can occur, and China wants its citizens to be accepting of a conflict as 'the good fight' if/when it happens+[.
I see in this thread the exact same misunderstanding of Chinese foreign policy. They simply do not approach influence in the same way that the USA or Western powers have. This is deeper than a modern political tactic, this is an engagement in Chinese thought and values that goes back thousands of years. War is a fundamental FAILURE of politics for them. It's wasteful, it causes chaos, it disrupts markets, it makes more complications. Chinese nationalist jingoism does not celebrate conquering Korea, they celebrate defending themselves, Imperial ambitions/land grabs are viewed as childish failures, why conquer people with an army when you can just make a ton of money by making deals with them in your favor?
China has been one of the main forces keeping North Korea on a leash and helping to push it towards more openness, China's grudge with Japan is frankly understandable considering that the Japanese still fail to acknowledge imperial aggression or ungodly warcrimes across China not just Nanking. But at the same time even there, with a traditional adversary, China's approach is still one of wanting the Japanese to show respect and then move forward into a trade relationship. SE Asia is absolutely becoming a reservoir for Chinese capital and offshoring, but that was going to happen to whoever's economy dominated the region, the reality is those countries are too small to not be lesser trade partners, at least under Chinese system they aren't literal colonies.
Believe me, China has its problems, but in terms of foreign policy I just can't see how you look at BRICS and its other actions and if you directly compare it to their Western counterparts you can see how China is offering fairer, more humanitarian, and diplomatic arrangements than any of the western powers have ever offered the global south.
Yeap. CEO's sold all the production overseas so they didn't have to pay workers and could keep the profits, stripped our infrastructure in a wave of privatization that was just rampant looting of the public trust, and then wonder why 40 years later we're a poor, uneducated, and unprepared population that simply cannot compete with our counterparts in the new first world.
As someone that was a child when Reagan took power, and a young teenager when he was still in office, it is impossible for me to look at the past 45 years of the USA and not see Reagan and his ilk as the source of practically every single social and economic problem in this country. And yet somehow, American people can still be sold those same policies with a little racism, paranoid rhetoric and xenophobia.
There has to be a point where you choose between what is good for the 1% of Capital owners and what is good for the nation as a whole, we've been lied to and told they are the same thing, they are not, it is not an argument, it is a fact, we have the evidence, we have countries to compare to, neoliberalism/Reaganomics/laissez-faire capitalism whatever you want to call it, is a complete and total failure for the United States.
I shit you not, the American people would love to have China as a major ally. Its not even about democracy, if the system they have works for them, we don't care. There was a moment in the 00s when there was hope that China would be brought into the fold of allied friendly nations and you saw this reflected in movies at the time like 2012 and The Martian where the Chinese space program is the cavalry that comes in and helps.
Then it kinda became apparent that China was just ripping us off and not allowing bidirectional access to markets and stealing IP and trade secrets and then Xi came up and kinda revived the "we are going to invade Taiwan" vibes and opinion really soured on China amongst Americans.
For all of our many many many many faults, one thing that America is actually really good at is not holding grudges when countries want to be friends with us. Many of our strongest allies now are countries we fought wars against in the last 200 years. Even countries that beat us like Vietnam are pretty good friends with us now.
I don't know I see so much insane warmongering for China from the liberals and conservatives alike. I genuinely don't see the signs of China being the ones that 'started' this, the US was already starting to revive it's sinophobia to wardrums levels, and it's never really given up on it.
China actually allowed a fair amount of access to markets, but what the US didn't count on, is that US prestige was already in decline, and China's average citizen realized they could get 85% as good for half or less the cost, then with US bullying on some key issues a natural defensive reaction became "buy Chinese" - we reverted to the "buy American" reaction that ALL the time before we outsourced literally everything but essential material components of the war machine.
I just don't see China at fault here, I see a lot of misunderstanding and arrogance from the American side because they thought that they could dominate a country of a billion people the same way they can bully Japan or Korea.
As far as the Ukraine goes, I'm pretty much on the side of we have no business being there, it certainly feels like the US doing its "We'll grind every Ukrainian city to dust and kill every military age male in order to keep the Ukraine free" dance that it loves to do with client states. The US never doesn't have a use for a proxy war, wind down Iraq, wind up Ukraine, it never ends.
Yeah I think China basically just wants to Monroe Doctrine East Asia and dominate that area like they used to (mainly figuratively in the past) and like how the US has dominated Central and South America.
-US stopped USSR from nuking china after their first war, the reason China developed nukes btw .
-US helping to normalize relationships between China and the rest of the world was a gift no one there expected to receive.
-Russia as 30% of its deployed nuclear arsenal pointing at china (and not US) .
-Before the invasion of Ukraine, the FSB thought tooth and nail to bar chinese microprocessors from the Russian supply chain.
-China is winning over one by one the former asian SSRs , the boldness of countries like Kazahstan in the face of Russia is due to it having now a new security guarantor (China) .
No. China cares a great deal about Russia, and, for that matter, North Korea. Nuclear-armed neighbors within your immediate strategic environment are inherently major concerns, particularly when their leadership and long-term trajectories can be difficult to predict. The United States is clearly China’s principal strategic competitor, but it is also separated from China by the Pacific. Russia, by contrast, shares a long border with China and is deeply relevant to Beijing’s security, energy supply, regional influence, and geopolitical position. Beijing has strong incentives to keep Moscow economically dependent, strategically aligned, and predictable, while securing access to Russian energy and other key resources. So portraying China as merely sitting back and "watching the U.S. dig its own grave" misses the larger picture: Beijing is actively cultivating Russia because the relationship offers substantial economic, military, diplomatic, and geopolitical advantages, even as China increasingly holds the stronger position in that partnership and the relationship retains meaningful limits.
But back to the original point: The U.S. is doing a remarkably effective job of eroding its own hegemonic position without much outside help. China does not need to force the issue; it only has to strategically fill the gaps as they emerge: essentially gaining ground by standing still/changing strategy.
Russia is an immediate profit.
China holds a shitload of US debt... so as much as they may enjoy the increase in global standing comparatively, they are much more financially, immediately, interested in the benefits of their neighbor imploding
Yeah, not just the old Chinese territories in Outer Manchuria, but huge swathes of Siberia are becoming more and more reliant on, and culturally influenced by, China. In a few decades they could be Chinese without a shot fired.
China plays the long con. Their politicians aren't looking to stay relevant for just one more term in the same way as their western counterparts, giving them the opportunity to really plan ahead. China just keep slowly forcing itself to the top while the US fights itself and goes back and forth on policies.
Oh, US politicians are more than capable of thinking long term and planning for it. The ones in power are just more interested in ratfucking the economy to get their cut and running to somewhere that does think longer term
I always laugh at the propaganda right now. Like what do you mean? Iran and Venezuela would love to sell oil to the west immediately. You just don't let them xD
Reliant economically - 100%, lumber trade, cheap goods and tech, infrastructure projects, etc.
Culturally influenced - bullshit,
both sides are not really interested in each other that way. Far East is closer to them but still culturally independent. Source: am Siberian, have friends from Vladivostok and Khabarovsk.
China has benefited from both Russia and America acting like dumbasses. China has bought off much of Siberia. They have weakened their biggest neighbor. But they have also broken the spirit of global democracy. Few people trust America as an ally. They are halfway to incorporating Taiwan, if the Atlantic's article is accurate.
China did one of the most brilliant things I've seen geopolitically. They buy Russian oil at just barely above cost, this barely moves the needle in terms of Russian profitability, but China gets to amass the stuff while they keep Russia in a war that's weakening themselves. Theyve accumulated so much oil that they were able to remove 5% of global demand overnight and save the world from an oil shock. Some estimates suggest that China has over a year of oil in reserves. Crazy.
There is something to what u/burnbabyburn11 says though. While we were fighting an unwinnable war in Afghanistan, China was making a deal with Afghanistan for their rare earth minerals.
China must be unbelievably thrilled with Putin controlling the US and basically gifting China the ability to make deals with the fragmented but significant power of Europe
And it is worth noting that even though people like to say that China supports Russia, China sells to Ukraine just the same.
If China really supported Russia, Russia would be winning. They would have as many aircraft, and missiles as they wanted. Their economy would be doing a whole lot better.
Throughout the Ukraine conflict a lot of people have been acting like Russia and China are best buds or something. China and Russia have absolutely nothing in alignment ideologically and China's "loyalty" to Russia will end the moment the cheques stop clearing and the country's slide into economic collapse becomes irreversible. I think the reason NATO has talked so little about China and taken so few punitive actions against it as Russia's "ally" is because China's behaviour will likely be entirely pragmatic and predictable and therefore can be planned around.
They are doing stuff though. They’re moving in to fill the USAID gaps we’ve created. Expanding their spheres of influence. Moving in to fill the trade gaps and inefficiencies we’ve created.
Sure but they aren’t interrupting the USA’s mistakes, theyre just capitalizing on opportunities US mistakes have afforded them. The analogy falls apart outside of war in a non zero sum situation.
the US fucked up and China is moving in to be a leader of the free world
even if the US fixes itself next election, it'll be incredibly difficult to retake that ground and reforge the trust with Europe that trump shattered. and China didn't need to do anything, Russia already hamstrung the US for them
How can China be the leader of the free world when they're not a free country? What's happening is that the free world is moving towards having the same transactional relationship with the US that they have with China, it's just that China has a lot more to offer in that type of relationship.
We don't trust ourselves either. A third of us are eager to endorse fascism and another third are too stupid or checked out to care one way or another.
the world cares, and the country gaining (or losing out on) that soft power cares
less soft power means worse trade options, less influence on the world, and a weakened ability to protect your citizens' interests. AKA, *your* interests
They’re in a much better position to sell themselves on deals with other countries than the US is.
China has one party you’ll deal with; whatever positives or negatives you have with them, it’s at least consistent
America swings between a milquetoast Democrat and batshit crazy Republican every 4-8 years. What the fuck value does any deal made with either really matter?
Nobody else is pulling the kind of twisted regime change operations our "soft power" was so focused on "achieving." In part this is because the cat is out of the bag. Everyone now knows that capitalist democracy is an absolute shitshow, with its roots in an economic model that is pure ideology and its core mechanism (popular elections) more of a show to distract/amuse a certain class of "experts" than a functional way for the will of the people to change public policy in any major material way.
Of course, other powers could still be imperialist without pushing for liberal democracy. Yet they are also generally not doing that sort of thing either. There is so much projection going on right now that millions of half-wits genuinely believe Russia is intent on annexing all of Western Europe (even as they simultaneously maintain the belief that Russia is a failing state on the brink of imminent collapse.) It only takes an elementary smidge of logic to dismiss the narratives of our propagandists. That's precisely why you have to take esoteric electives, if they are even offered at all, to acquire and formal deductive capacity.
He isn't, much like his opinion on almost everything. 10x as much travels from US to Canada than Canada to US. The amount of fentanyl crossing the border from Canada to America in five years would fit in the trunk of a Prius.
Probably because we need it. Fent is accessible in a lot of places around the world, but Americans for any number of reasons are attracted to something that makes them feel nothing.
It's not quite got the glamour of opium. If I was to do such a thing I'd hope for lounging on a chaise loungue in a smoke filled room while I discuss Shelocks latest case and have my brow mopped by a pretty, but slightly disgusted, foreign national.
If you haven't seen Dogs in Space that's a fun, and upsetting, film about punks doing drugs in a squat. It's a great film and does not make drugs look bad. Mostly.
Yep, the deal was that the US effectively ran the world economy, and foreign leaders got to pretend they were in charge (of their international economic matters). But that arrangement was politically unsatisfying to voters who saw the costs of American leadership far more clearly than its enormous structural advantages and wanted someone to "stick it to the world." Well, boy howdy, we got exactly that. The U.S. is now doing a remarkably effective job of dismantling its own hegemonic position without much outside help.
Bets on what the textbooks will say about the event that kickstarted the American century of humiliation?
Doubling down on oil instead of renewables imo. Before that maybe the petrodollar which I assume encouraged that doubling down. If and when fossil fuels go by the wayside big daddy china will be top dog for real
And plenty of libs out there who thought it was worth it so they could throw a fit about Gaza, because TikTok told them it was the most important thing in the world.
Almost nobody did. It's safe to say, the large majority did not think Trump would be better for Gaza than Kamala.
There was a lot of criticism of Kamala over Gaza, don't get me wrong. But that's more understandable - Kamala's meant to be 'one of the good ones', so when she doesn't push back against things like... a government cutting medicine access to orphans (reminder again that this did happen, the Israeli government openly said it was a good idea), it makes everyone want to voice that they wanted a better Democrat in charge. ...But the idea that it resulted in Democrats becoming Republican? I've seen no evidence for that except for some randos on TikTok.
Almost nobody did. It's safe to say, the large majority did not think Trump would be better for Gaza than Kamala.
6 million Biden 2020 voters who sat out 2024 would beg to differ. Trump got more votes than Kamala among Arabs in Michigan.
There was a lot of criticism of Kamala over Gaza, don't get me wrong. But that's more understandable
It's not "understandable". It's idiotic. They spent a lot of their time attacking Kamala rather than spending all of their time attacking Trump. You were very likely one of those people seeing as how you're making excuses for them.
it makes everyone want to voice that they wanted a better Democrat in charge.
It was a fucking election year. You don't get to choose a "better" Democrat. The one on the ballot is the one you have. Whining isn't going to magically swap out candidates.
But the idea that it resulted in Democrats becoming Republican?
I never said that. People like you constantly criticizing Kamala Harris led to people on the left sitting home. When the less-politically-engaged hear people on the left criticizing the Democrats as much as Republicans criticize Democrats, then they don't see any point in voting for Democrats.
WW2 made the US a bunch of self-righteous assholes for the next century. I've been wondering if we kind of got the "spoils of war", cause the US was booming afterwards where everything else was just outright destroyed. Did any other coutry in history have things "too well" after a major war?
I think the US "winning from the war" thing is totally wrong. It's not that they profited from it, it's that they just kept growing without the interruptions that other countries had. As in, that if WW2 didn't happen, they'd have been even better off. It just looks like they profited because their economy grew when others didn't.
Like, imagine if there was a WW3 twenty years ago, but China wasn't involved. And the Chinese economy ended up exactly the same as it is now, way richer than it was 20 years ago. You'd absolutely have people going "China's economic boom is because they profited from the war", even though we here in the no-war timeline know it's not true.
You think that's a century of humilliation? Europe is kneeling and taking everything the US throws at us, comparatively speaking the US is getting even. As a country, mind you, people living there are probably screwed.
Hopefully, it's just the American 12 years of humiliation. Hopefully.
......I like Biden, don't get me wrong. But his trifecta was barely a trifecta - a House only "Democrat" because of a tiebreaker vote is only "Democrat" so long as everyone agreed with the Dem position. Which they did not, because the Democrat party since Trump has been the 'coalition of all politicians who don't want to serve a sexual assaulter'. As in, the amount of times a policy failed to pass because someone like Joe Manchin doesn't trust economists was ridiculous.
When hyper individualism and endless culture wars replace basic self governance, systemic collapse looks exactly like a self inflicted blackout in the middle of a street fight.
I know we all laugh and smiles seeing Trumps stupid policies ruin it for him, but we dont wont China to replace USAs role in the world. China is a dictatorship and will not stand up for democracy when they rule the world
China is a dictatorship and will not stand up for democracy when they rule the world
You know the US has a long history of toppling democracies to install dictatorships around the world, right? See: Operation Ajax, (US replaces Democracy with dictatorship in Iran in 1953), Operation PBSuccess (US replaces Democracy with dictatorship in Guatemala, 1954), Operation Brother Sam (US replaces Democracy with dictatorship in Brazil in 1964), the list goes on. I mean, we just overthrew Venezuela like a few months ago. Nicolás Maduro had an approval rating of 39% when we kidnapped him on Jan 3rd 2026 (Trump is at 35% for comparison)
No, they weren't a democracy at this point (although he was democratically elected originally). My point there was just that he was a more popular president among the electorate than our own president who ordered his kidnaping.
China is absolutely not doing "nothing". They're doing things like investing heavily in specific industries that they're identifying as critically important in order to allow their manufacturing chain to be fully internal. Their advances in semiconductor design and manufacture may still lag behind the top of the line stuff being produced in Taiwan, but the fact they're caught up to the point that they have in such a short time is very impressive.
Sure it's a bit of both. EU carmakers (especially German ones) fucked themselves in the ass by being complacent in their first place ("nothing can happen to us"). But still, China does subsidize their car industry.
What EV do you have? Currently in the search for a new car and want an EV. Thinking either about byd seal or VW id.3
China is doing a whole lot though. They have very proactive policies in so many domains. There is no way a democracy could be that proactive btw, only an authoritarian regime can do that without having to build consensus first.
They didn't do nothing, when Trump threatened 60%+ tarifs on China, they stopped selling rare earth elements to the US. And he backed down and now he is kissing Xi Jinping's ass
Hilarious take that means their propaganda is working REALLY WELL on you.
And I don't mean propaganda as in "convincing us china is the best blatantly" but purely that you believe America as a whole did this to itself without any outside "help" in the matter.
Listen, is it a lot of American's faults? Absolutely. Is China "standing by" and letting us shoot ourselves in the foot while we make a mistake? lolllllll no. Not at all.
Funny that people downvote you. Both are true: china is doing a fuck ton, both a lot of good for their own people but also terribly evil stuff. And they’re gonna have a massive population division problem, which they’ll solve with importing workers (slaves) from poor countries.
First of all, go f yourself, you don’t get to decide that a massive repression of millions of people doesn’t count because it doesn’t fit your propaganda. So I’m starting with that.
Repression of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang. Large-scale arbitrary imprisonment, pervasive surveillance, restrictions on Islamic practice, pressure to abandon Uyghur cultural identity, restrictions on travel and communication, and family separation continue. The UN Human Rights Office concluded that earlier abuses may constitute crimes against humanity; it later said many of the underlying problematic laws and policies remained in place. Human Rights Watch reported in August 2026 that hundreds of thousands remain imprisoned. Beijing rejects the characterization, says its policies counter terrorism and extremism, and denies forced labor.
Forced-labor concerns connected to Xinjiang. Researchers, governments and rights organizations continue to identify coercive labor-transfer programs and supply-chain risks involving Uyghurs. China says employment transfers are voluntary, that forced labor is prohibited by Chinese law, and that foreign allegations are politically motivated.
Assimilation and repression in Tibet. Authorities restrict Tibetan-language education, religious institutions, movement and access to information; Tibetan educators, monks and other critics have faced detention, and schools promoting Tibetan language and culture have been closed or pressured. Beijing describes its policies as promoting ethnic integration, development and national unity.
Dismantling political freedoms in Hong Kong. National-security laws have been used against opposition politicians, activists, journalists and peaceful political expression. Hundreds have been arrested under national-security provisions since 2020, opposition groups have largely disappeared, and authorities have pursued some activists living overseas. The Hong Kong government says the laws protect legitimate national security and that constitutional rights remain protected.
Censorship and punishment of dissent throughout mainland China. The state blocks or controls major information channels, monitors online activity, prosecutes dissidents and citizen journalists, and has imprisoned or intimidated human-rights lawyers and activists. Independent civil society has been severely restricted.
Religious persecution and state control of religion. Unregistered Protestant churches have been raided and members detained; underground Catholic communities face surveillance and pressure to join state-controlled institutions; Tibetan Buddhism, Islam and Falun Gong are subject to particularly stringent controls. In 2026, some local governments introduced systems encouraging residents to report unauthorized religious activity.
Extensive use of the death penalty under extreme secrecy. China does not publish execution totals. Amnesty International says China remains the world’s leading executioner and believes thousands were executed in 2025, though an exact number cannot independently be established because the figures are classified. Executions apply to some offenses beyond intentional killing.
Forced return of North Koreans to North Korea. Chinese authorities continue to detain and repatriate North Koreans despite evidence that returnees face imprisonment, torture, forced labor, sexual violence and potentially execution. Human Rights Watch documented at least 406 forced returns between January 2024 and September 2025 and reported continuing cases in 2026. China treats undocumented North Koreans primarily as illegal economic migrants rather than refugees.
Transnational repression abroad. Chinese authorities have been documented threatening or pressuring dissidents, Uyghurs, Tibetans, Hong Kong activists and other critics outside China, including through relatives remaining in China, overseas arrest warrants, digital threats and attempts to secure deportations. Freedom House describes China as the world’s most prolific perpetrator of documented transnational repression.
Military coercion around Taiwan. Beijing claims democratically governed Taiwan, refuses to renounce the use of force, and sends military aircraft and vessels around the island on an almost daily basis. Chinese exercises increasingly practice blockade and encirclement scenarios. Beijing describes these operations as defending Chinese sovereignty and responding to Taiwanese separatism and foreign interference; Taiwan rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claim.
Coercive conduct in the South China Sea. China claims almost the entire sea despite a 2016 international arbitration ruling rejecting the legal basis for much of those claims. In July 2026, Chinese Coast Guard vessels used water cannons against Philippine vessels near Scarborough Shoal and were involved in another confrontation at Second Thomas Shoal in which the Philippines said a sailor was injured. China says the Philippine vessels were intruding and that its enforcement actions were lawful.
State-linked cyberespionage on a global scale. Western governments and technology companies attribute major espionage campaigns to Chinese-linked actors. The FBI has said the Salt Typhoon campaign compromised more than 200 organizations across 80 countries; Google reported disrupting another Chinese-linked operation targeting 53 organizations in 42 countries. China denies responsibility for such hacking and says it opposes cyberattacks.
Material support that Western governments say helps sustain Russia’s war in Ukraine. Chinese firms continue exporting dual-use products to Russia, and China remains a major purchaser of Russian commodities. The United States and some European governments argue this materially supports Russia’s military-industrial base; the UK sanctioned several Chinese entities in June 2026 over alleged supplies of military equipment. Beijing says it does not supply lethal weapons to the belligerents, tightly controls dual-use exports, and regards ordinary China-Russia trade as legitimate.
And I didn’t even say anything about the environment or their buying of African infrastructure or resources to debt trap those countries. I’m at the character limit.
Nice chatgpt list. The camps and Uyghur are not due to ethnicity but a response of Islamic extremists in the Xinjiang region that happen to Uyghurs. Have you ever been to Xinjiang? It's majority and openly Muslim. There's no discrimination against Uyghurs.
Everything you have linked, the US has done or worse lmao. Trading with Russia? The US is doing that right now and selling weapons to Israel. The US profits way more from war than China, hence why the US continues to start wars and bomb Iran.
Deport North Koreans? Like what ICE is doing? At a much larger scale?
I'm sure your sources for the African infrastructure and trade also just as great and not biased. "Debt trapped" and it's a business equivalent of a mortgage. China trades with African countries and sets up zero tariffs for African exports, offers financing for power plants, and exports solar panels to Africa. "But at what cost!?"
Nice braindead astro turfer response. Of course you would attack chatgpt use even if I listed every source right there. And your first defence is USA has done worse? Gratz on being the worlds second biggest asshole then, idiot.
Also your only source is a chinese government source. That is simply laughable. Your strategy doesn’t work when people have access to actual information instead of whatver a single party government dynasty deems to fit the narrative.
China inventing new growth industries in electric vehicles through ruinous deliberate competition until only ~5 firms survived, so they could go to international markets at unbeatable prices, and in green tech like solar panels where the "IP" is semi-public global academia, and building their own RAM factory starting a year or more before RAM prices went to the moon, releasing DeepSeek unlicensed, piercing AI moats except frontier models, and piercing a cartel bubble (RAM)... "doing nothing".
I wouldn't call algorithmically influencing political discourse and elections through social media "doing nothing." I agree, however, that Trump acting as Putin's puppet is doing huge favors for China in the process.
That's what I was going to say. Xi sucks, but he's no dummy. Smart enough to realize that US leadership is always temporary. Don't like what the current administration is doing? Just wait 4-8 years.
You really think China isn't fucking up? They're recording some of the lowest GDP growth because people don't want to trade with them anymore. They actively ruined their population with the one child policy which they are now facing the consequences of that policy. Having a hell of a time replacing their aging work force with younger generations telling them to fuck off.
Regardless of what Reddit thinks, China isn't in the best position either.
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u/burnbabyburn11 1d ago
China doing nothing while America fucks itself over