China may have the fiscal ability to wage war on Taiwan, but it may not be successful, Gordon Chang, the author of "The Coming Collapse of China," said on Newsmax Sunday.
"China has a lot of problems inside its military," Chang told Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "On the other hand, China is trying to create the conditions that military action would be limited so their weaknesses would not be exposed."
The matter is a "complicated issue" he added, and involves not only the question of China's capability but Taiwan's inability to defend itself.
"Part of that is because the United States has kept Taiwan weak, so we're responsible for part of this," said Chang.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin met last week in Uzbekistan for talks on boosting the ties between their countries, and Chang said the meeting was significant to show the support China has for Russia's war against Ukraine.
"Xi has been a little critical, but nonetheless, he's continued the line that China will support Russia," said Chang, noting that a high-ranking Chinese official was in Moscow recently and expressed "clear-throated support for the war effort."
"We didn't hear anything from Xi Jinping that undermined those sentiments," said Chang. "I think that although Putin understands that China has some concerns about Russia's ability to prosecute the war; nonetheless, we should have no doubt China's supporting, in every way possible, Putin's war effort."
Further, Chang pointed out that President Joe Biden's administration is "not doing anything to stop China from supporting Russia."
He also said Russia would "certainly" support a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, as that would be "trading favors," and Beijing is going "all in on this."
"They could very well take on Taiwan because they think the Biden administration will not stop them," said Chang. "This is an issue of the perception of American weakness.
"I'm not saying the Chinese are right, but that's the way they feel, and that is important because of the way Putin felt about Biden. He eventually invaded Ukraine because of that, so we need to be concerned."
Xi is preparing for a third term in office, and Chang said it's known that he "is a dictator," but while that is not a good sign for world stability, it's important to remember the Chinese leader has been the "author of disastrous domestic policies."
The issue, then, is whether China will be able to sustain its challenge to the world, "because internally it is falling apart," said Chang.
But that will only make the nation more dangerous, as it gives Xi the incentive to lash out to distract his critics at home.
Meanwhile, much of the fentanyl coming into the United States comes from China through Mexico, and Chang said the Chinese Communist Party "supports the gangs."
"You couldn't operate the gangs in a near-total surveillance state, so obviously they back those gangs," he said. "The fentanyl gangs launder their proceeds through the Chinese state banking system."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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