China’s ‘Great Wall of Steel’ Isn’t Just Idle Talk
The level of invective from Beijing is rising, and the U.S. should take it seriously.
Great Wall of paint.
Photographer: Andy Wong/Getty Images
What would it sound like if a country were getting ready to shatter the long period of great-power peace humanity has enjoyed since 1945? It might sound a lot like the ominous noises coming from Beijing today.
Recent pronouncements by the Chinese Communist Party have had a distinctly martial character. At the party’s centennial, President Xi Jinping warned that anyone who obstructs China’s “national rejuvenation” — a euphemism for its rise to the top of the global hierarchy — will “have their heads bashed bloody against a Great Wall of steel.” In mid-July, commentators from the People’s Liberation Army released a video promising to incinerate Japan with nuclear weapons if it interfered with a Chinese attack on Taiwan.