Apologies for the url being a screenshot, for some reason the lemmur app won’t let me paste in the URL box, so here’s the link to the article: https://www.democracynow.org/2022/8/1/headlines/house_speaker_pelosi_will_visit_taiwan_despite_warnings_from_china
US is feeling really ballsy lately. Would be hilarious if their response was to start meeting with leaders of seperatists in Hawaii, Texas, Puerto Rico, Alaska, even California lmao. Do you guys think they’re trying to force a confrontation while Russia is bogged down in Ukraine? Kinda seems like that is their goal. Bog down Russia as long as possible and while Russia is busy take advantage of US having all of Europe in a firm bloc? They are also trying to form a bloc I feel to slow down the insane amount of trade china does with Europe, but if they keep up the sanctions on Russia and China we may see some European countries go neutral or even side with china out of pure economic necessity. The US economy is collapsing and dollar hegemony in waning- even Saudi Arabia is now trading with china in yuan.
The problem with doing nothing is then their threats and red lines become meaningless to the US. You can’t issue warnings like this then do nothing or the west will see you as weak and cross more and more red lines until all you have left is war with them to dissuade them.
The west already has been engaging in salami slicing tactics. China really does have to respond after making these warnings or the west will take it as weakness and a sign to ramp up separatism and confrontration. How strong or weak is up to them. They could target Chinese Taipei with sanctions and economic pain, they could do the same for the US. They could sanction Pelosi and her family, they could put on a show of military might by claiming the skies over the island as their own, escorting her plane, daring the DPP to shoot them down and risk war or hitting Pelosi, etc.
They need to outsmart the US. And they need to know exactly what the US is trying to do so they can avoid their trap.
China’s best play might be some kind of economic sanctions against the US. It’s quite possibly the best card they have to play. The sanctions will hurt China’s economy, sure, but the US economy is already in tatters. Will the Biden admin (or the ruling class in general) be able to survive 20%+ inflation after commiting what is essentially an own goal?