19 June 2024

China Expert Says There’s ‘No Evidence’ PRC On a High-End War Footing

David Roza

While China’s military is modernizing and growing its capabilities, a leading expert said he sees no evidence that the country is on a high-end war footing or heading towards one, though the situation is much different in the low-intensity space of cyber operations and economic and political interference.

“There is ample evidence that China’s military is enhancing its preparedness, but little evidence that the national leadership intends to fight a war anytime soon,” Timothy R. Heath, senior international defense researcher at the RAND Corporation, wrote in testimony for a June 13 hearing of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

Heath made a distinction between military preparedness and national war preparation. The former involves buying and developing new weapons and equipment, recruiting and training troops, and other activities to make sure a military can carry out its missions.

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