Part 9/13:
For Xi Jinping and China's military leadership, this was a shocking realization. The perceived technological supremacy, once confidently paraded, now appeared fragile. The pause in Taiwan Strait activity was a cautious, strategic retreat—an internal recalibration—driven by an urgent need to reassess whether the people's military modernization could withstand a modern, Western-backed fight.
The Struggles of Chinese Defense Industry
Adding to this doubt is the troubling financial and industrial trend. Recent data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) reveals that China's military imports decreased by 72% over the past five years. At face value, this seems counterintuitive amid China's push for self-sufficiency.