A Plan of Centuries
China Uses History, Strategy, and Patience
Hi friends,
China is a fierce enemy. And vastly underestimated in general.
Stay engaged. Stay strong. The battle has only begun.
While the West reacts to headlines, China plans by the century.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) doesn’t govern like a Western democracy. It acts as a civilizational power with a strategic patience shaped by thousands of years of history, philosophical traditions, and a deeply embedded mission to reclaim global preeminence. What we're witnessing now through trade, foreign investment, censorship, and coercion is not a moment—it's a method.
Below is a breakdown of some key ways China is executing its long game, often while Western leaders remain focused on the next election cycle.
1. Belt and Road Initiative: Strategic Coercion Masquerading as Partnership
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was marketed as a grand infrastructure project to connect the world. But many participating countries now find themselves in debt traps and beholden to Beijing. Ports, rail lines, and power stations are built with Chinese labor, funded by Chinese banks, and when the bills can’t be paid, Beijing steps in to demand concessions.
Sri Lanka: Handed over control of Hambantota Port for 99 years.
Montenegro: A NATO member nearly bankrupted by BRI highway construction loans.
Africa & Latin America: Increasing dependency on Chinese loans and telecom networks.
This isn’t diplomacy. It’s leverage.
“Many BRI partner countries are saddled with debts they cannot afford to repay, giving Beijing leverage to extract political and economic concessions.”
— Council on Foreign Relations, March 2021
🔗 https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/chinas-massive-belt-and-road-initiative
2. Strategic Patience: Informed by Thousands of Years of Statecraft
While the U.S. struggles to pass budgets or staff agencies every 2 to 4 years, China’s rulers are crafting 25-, 50-, and 100-year plans. Their vision is shaped by:
Confucian order: Stability, hierarchy, and collectivism.
Legalist enforcement: The state must be supreme.
Sun Tzu's philosophy: "Subdue your enemy without fighting."
Xi Jinping’s doctrine of the "great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation" aims to achieve global supremacy by 2049—the 100th anniversary of the PRC. And they’re right on schedule.
“Through the Digital Silk Road, China has exported surveillance technology and telecom infrastructure to more than seventy countries, raising concerns over data privacy and CCP influence.”
— CFR, 2025
🔗 https://www.cfr.org/china-digital-silk-road/
3. Unrestricted Warfare: Everything Is a Weapon
Two PLA colonels penned a manual in 1999 titled Unrestricted Warfare, which has become a playbook for China’s approach:
“War is no longer confined to the battlefield. Finance, media, cyberspace, and law are the new fronts.”
Under this doctrine, China doesn’t have to fire a shot to wage war. It can:
Manipulate global markets through rare earth control.
Push propaganda via TikTok, Confucius Institutes, and UN votes.
Buy silence through economic pressure (e.g., the NBA, Hollywood).
Undermine institutions by staffing or influencing WHO, WTO, and others.
This isn’t conspiracy; it’s strategy.
“In 2025, the 75 poorest countries owe more than $22 billion in debt service to Chinese state creditors, deepening fears of a sovereign debt crisis and rising dependency.”
— Lowy Institute, Peak repayment: China’s global lending (May 2025)
4. Ideological Control: Exporting the Party's Worldview
China’s global phrase, "Community of Shared Destiny," sounds harmless. But according to analysts like Gordon Chang, it's ideological code for CCP dominance. China doesn’t want to compete within the current global system; it wants to replace it with one where authoritarianism is normalized.
Evidence includes:
Digital Silk Road: Exporting surveillance to authoritarian regimes.
Censorship pressure: U.S. firms self-censor to retain market access.
"Re-education" abroad: Chinese students and citizens abroad often monitored.
It’s not just about economics. It’s about reshaping global norms.
5. Manipulating Western Weaknesses
The CCP understands that open societies can be manipulated:
Freedom of speech is used to amplify pro-China narratives.
Free markets are used to buy influence.
DEI/ESG language is co-opted to soften criticism.
China knows that short-term profits drive long-term silence. Many U.S. leaders, corporations, and institutions are willingly complicit.
Hollywood is one of the clearest and best-documented examples of U.S. industry shaping its output to align with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) preferences. The systemic self-censorship, financial pressure, and compliance with CCP demands in exchange for market access is undeniable. This is a textbook case of economic leverage used for ideological control.
We Must Stop Underestimating the Long Game
China’s strategy is layered, deliberate, and historic. It doesn’t need to invade Taiwan tomorrow or collapse the dollar overnight. It just needs to keep moving forward while the West distracts itself.
As Americans, we must:
Demand decoupling from hostile supply chains.
Reinforce constitutional principles and energy independence.
Educate others about China's real intentions.
The game board is global. The clock is long. And the stakes are nothing less than the future of free civilization.
Sources:
Council on Foreign Relations: China’s Belt and Road and debt traps
Unrestricted Warfare by Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui
Subscribe at RationalAmerican.org for more facts, insights, and uncensored commentary.
As always, do your own research; make up your own mind.
This Substack is for informational and commentary purposes only. All claims are based on publicly available sources and are presented as political analysis, not legal conclusions.
References to other sources do not necessarily reflect my opinions, and I make no claim to their veracity or completeness. I provide them for your consideration.
(AI may have been used in this article.)
God bless you, God bless President Trump and team, and God bless America!
Stay calm - President Trump is a businessman who operates strategically, and not everything will make sense at first. His plan to shrink government and Make America Great Again is a process, not an overnight fix. Trust the long game, not just the headlines.
Disclaimer:
This report is for informational and commentary purposes only. All claims are based on publicly available sources and are presented as political analysis, not legal conclusions. No assertion is made of unlawful conduct by any individual or organization unless supported by formal public record.
This message reflects my personal perspective on current events. While I strive for accuracy, please verify details through official sources linked above. If sharing, I encourage readers to include this disclaimer to ensure clarity.
United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.
VoteTexas.gov, https://www.votetexas.gov/get-involved/index.html
Until next time…
Please share your thoughts in the comments. Or email me, and let’s have a problem-solving conversation. I hope we can create a caucus with positive, back-to-the-founders’-dream-for-America results. Have a topic you want to know more about?
Some housekeeping…
Going forward, you may need to check your spam folder. And please mark this address as ‘not spam.’ If the newsletter isn’t in your spam folder either, you should look in the Promotions tab.
You can always see everything on the website, RationalAmerican.org.
Thanks again for reading! I’m glad you’re here!