Recently, based on Taiwan’s media reports, the U.S. has declined Taiwan’s request to purchase the F-16C/D fighter plane. In the past, both the U.S. and Taiwan were very passionate about arms sales. What has caused such a drastic change?

A Xinhua article believes that it is because of the U.S.’s strategic change in Asia. For a long time, Taiwan was a “trump card” for the U.S. in balancing Sino-U.S. relations. As the cross-strait relationship has moderated, the “trump card” has lost its shine. Therefore, in such a circumstance, the U.S. is unwilling to sell arms (to Taiwan).

The article further says that China’s scientific and technological advances in national defense are the fundamental reason for the U.S. to be low-key on arms sales to Taiwan. The article concludes that U.S. arms sales to Taiwan is an old issue for China. China always held an opposing attitude, which previously had little effect. Now, the impact of China’s scientific and technological advances in national defense has surpassed all past efforts. Therefore, in many international political affairs, strategic missions, and military issues, the role of scientific and technological advances in national defense will be very important.

Source: Xinhua, August 5, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2011-08/05/c_121813828.htm

Gao Zugui, a Professor at the Party School of The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), wrote that China should find a common ground with its neighboring countries and with the United States in order to contain the tension in the South China Sea. Gao believes the urge of the neighboring countries to leverage external forces to resolve the dispute in the area meets the United States need to find an opportunity to re-instate its dominance in Asia, thus leading to the current tension in the South China Sea. “If China can expand the common interests or concerns that it shares with the ASEAN countries, including the South China Sea, and tries to prevent escalation of the conflict, it may be possible to limit the space the United States is interested in using. If China can expand its common ground with the United States related to more important interests and concerns, it may be possible for China to push the United States toward exercising restraint on the issue of the South China Sea.”

Source: People’s Online, August 22, 2011
http://theory.people.com.cn/GB/82288/112848/112851/15478658.htm

Qiushi Journal, a flagship publication of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee, republished an article from People’s Forum, which was originally published on the Caogen website. The article claimed that the only way to keep away from the pitfall of “the U.S. dollar hegemony” and the U.S. debt is to “create an alternative to replace the U.S. dollar and the U.S. debt.” “If China wants to get away from its over-reliance on the U.S. dollar and debt, the only right strategy is to internationalize the RMB (the Chinese yuan).”

The article explained in detail “the pitfall of the U.S. dollar hegemony and the U.S. debt”:

“The pitfall of the U.S. dollar hegemony and the U.S. debt is the core of the U.S. global strategy (‘the U.S. dollar + the U.S. army’ strategy). Due to the special status of the U.S. dollar, the world’s leading reserve currency, other countries have to accumulate large amounts of the U.S. dollar reserves. Since the U.S. bond market is the most liquid and most secure bond market in the world, other countries have no other choice but to buy large amounts of the U.S. debt. The deficit and debt help the U.S. to raise huge amounts of military expenditures, which lets the U.S. maintain its global military expansion and control the global strategic resources (mainly oil). The control of global strategic resources, in turn, strengthens the U.S. dollar’s reserve currency status. ‘The U.S. dollar hegemony – the U.S. debt pitfall – the military expansion – a control of strategic resources – strengthening the U.S. dollar hegemony’ is the basic logic of the United States as the global superpower.”

Source: Caogen, People’s Forum and Qiushi Journal, August 20 – 22, 2011
http://www.caogen.com/blog/Infor_detail/28899.html
http://www.rmlt.com.cn/News/201108/201108201032026335.html
http://www.qstheory.cn/jj/jjyj/201108/t20110822_104001.htm