Fragmented politics rule in a fragmented world

It was a tale of two cities and a riveting reminder of a fragmented world.

In Beijing, Premier Li Qiang addressed thousands of delegates at the National People’s Congress, China’s rubber-stamp parliament. Held in the Great Hall of the People, it was the Communist Party’s political bash of the year.

Across an ocean in Washington just minutes later, President Donald Trump gave his first state-of-the-union-style speech to the United States Congress in his second term. “A split-screen moment between the two great power rivals.” It was not lost on the American media.

“Inside Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, the picture was of tightly controlled unity. [President] Xi [Jinping] and his top leadership paraded into the auditorium to a standing ovation, while Li’s speech was punctuated with unanimous applause,” CNN reported. 

“[It was in] sharp contrast to the scene at the US Capitol, where several Democratic lawmakers walked out in protest and a longstanding member of Congress was removed for protesting Trump’s address,” the news network added.

China needs to invest more in national security

Fu Qianshao, Chinese military affairs expert

Minute by minute:

• Li’s Work Report lasted around 56 minutes and was enthusiastically embraced by delegates, who were backing polices hashed out behind closed doors by Xi.
• Trump’s address rambled on for 99 minutes amid heckling from Democrats holding up signs reading “false.” Most of them walked out before the president had finished.

Delve deeper: In hushed tones, Li announced that defense spending would hit US$249 billion this year and reiterated Beijing’s line to unify democratic Taiwan with the mainland. Force has not been ruled after large-scale naval exercises in the Taiwan Strait.

Between the lines: “The PLA [People’s Liberation Army] needs to boost combat readiness to deter potential emergencies in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait,” Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military affairs expert, told state-run Global Times.

Bottom line: “The security environment in the Asia-Pacific and the entire globe remains volatile. On this basis, China needs to invest more in national security,” Fu said.

Big picture: The Pentagon and the American military community believe China’s defense spending is probably 40% higher than the official figures released by Li. 

China Factor comment: At the same time, the Pentagon plans to axe $50 billion from the defense budget, “revive the warrior ethos, rebuild” the US “military, and reestablish deterrence.” So, much for Trump’s mantra of “peace through strength.”