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China’s Belt and Road Initiative is a Geopolitical Offensive
American Thinker ^ | 27 Apr, 2022 | Francis P. Sempa

Posted on 04/27/2022 4:26:48 AM PDT by MtnClimber

The Chinese Communist Party wants us to believe that it has no hegemonic ambitions and that its BRI is just another multilateral advance for mankind.

Ever since China launched its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), some Western analysts have portrayed it as a geopolitical offensive designed to increase China’s influence in, and ultimately control of, Eurasia. These analysts often base their portrayal on the classic geopolitical writings of Alfred Thayer Mahan, Halford Mackinder, and Nicholas Spykman, all of whom envisioned global politics as a clash between great Eurasian land powers and insular and peninsular sea powers. Over a decade ago, Naval War College scholars Toshi Yoshihara and James Holmes wrote a book titled Chinese Naval Strategy in the 21st Century: The Turn to Mahan in which they cite Chinese sources to support their claim that the PLA Navy looks to Mahan for geopolitical inspiration. Robert D. Kaplan, in a paper originally prepared for the Pentagon’s Office of Net Assessment (“The Return of Marco Polo’s World”), argued that the BRI was part of China’s strategy to dominate Mackinder’s “World Island.” Claudia Astarita, a lecturer at Sciences Po Lyon and an associate fellow at the University of Melbourne’s Asia Institute, has described the BRI as China’s attempt to extend its influence across Spykman’s Eurasian Rimland (Western Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia). Perhaps the best proof that China indeed views the world this way is their repeated denials that the BRI has anything to do with geopolitics and China’s quest for hegemony. Here is a case in point.

Teng Jianqun is a retired People’s Liberation Army (PLA) colonel who is the Director of the Department for American Studies and Center for Arms Control and International Security at China’s Institute of International Studies.

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Society
KEYWORDS: communism

1 posted on 04/27/2022 4:26:48 AM PDT by MtnClimber
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To: MtnClimber

It looks like China now believes it has the “mandate of heaven” to rule the entire world.


2 posted on 04/27/2022 4:26:57 AM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: MtnClimber

China learned that most politicians would be willing to sell out their nations in return for personal wealth.

That is what the Belt & Road Initiative is really all about.


3 posted on 04/27/2022 4:31:47 AM PDT by Erik Latranyi (We are being played by forces most do not understand)
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To: MtnClimber

Has anyone noticed what China is doing to its people? I think its a practice run but its torturous.


4 posted on 04/27/2022 4:35:55 AM PDT by GreatRoad ('In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act' )
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To: MtnClimber

I’m just irked by this style of writing — Here’s the name of an author; here’s the name of his book. Here’s the name of another author; here’s the name of his book. Here’s the name of another author; here’s the name of his book.


5 posted on 04/27/2022 4:36:29 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy (It's hard to "Believe all women" when judges say "I don't know what a woman is".)
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To: MtnClimber; Carry_Okie

No kidding.

Been watching this.


6 posted on 04/27/2022 4:56:12 AM PDT by sauropod ("We put all our politicians in prison as soon as they are elected. Don’t you?" Why? "It saves time.”)
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To: MtnClimber

WE HAVE THE CONTROL, WE MUST USE IT! They can’t feed themselves, they have to import 80% of their hydrocarbons, they are running out of water and have a restive population. Almost 40% is being held under a lock down. If the US cuts purchases from China by 50% we cripple their economy!


7 posted on 04/27/2022 4:56:55 AM PDT by WellyP (question!)
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To: MtnClimber

No sh** Sherlock


8 posted on 04/27/2022 5:00:24 AM PDT by Rural_Michigan
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To: MtnClimber

To be fair, China has believed that from at least 300 BC until 1890


9 posted on 04/27/2022 5:24:05 AM PDT by Cronos
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To: WellyP

Now that they have Russia, China is good for food and hydrocarbons.

Exports to the US are about 20% of China’s exports. So cutting purchases 50% would be a 10% reduction in China’s export business.


10 posted on 04/27/2022 5:43:06 AM PDT by FarCenter
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To: Taxman

Ping


11 posted on 04/27/2022 5:54:07 AM PDT by Taxman (SAVE AMERICA!)
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To: MtnClimber
a geopolitical offensive designed to increase China’s influence in, and ultimately control of, Eurasia.

They're doing it all over South America, too.

12 posted on 04/27/2022 7:40:55 AM PDT by Lizavetta
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To: Lizavetta

And they are in Africa. They are getting poor governments to sign up for infrastructure they can never pay for. All part of the CHICOM plan. Cause default and take over.


13 posted on 04/27/2022 7:49:40 AM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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