Great game II: the anti-China nexus - Part II

The third front is economy and financial system - an area Israel seeks to dominate globally. The liberal economic order and financial architecture have been shaped so they effectively remain under Israel’s influence. A conspicuous example is printing of US dollars: that power does not rest with US government but with Federal Reserve System. The Fed is run by an independent Board of Governors that does not require approval from President or Congress. Many board members come from powerful financial institutions linked to Jewish community, which in turn supports them. This gives that community enormous influence over the future of dollar and global financial system.

By contrast, Chinese government controls money printing and does not permit private actors to make monetary decisions. China’s state-dominated economy shields it from private-sector coercion. Because China’s financial and monetary systems are not under Israeli control, Israel cannot threaten China on economic or monetary grounds. Israel therefore views this as a direct challenge to its “Greater Israel” project, for which economic and financial dominance is a central pillar. The growing international use of yuan and roll-out of Chinese payment systems have deepened Israeli and allied concerns about losing control of global finance.

Consequently, Israel, together with United States and supported by proxy states such as many European countries, India, Afghanistan and others, is a major actor in anti-China nexus. In this arrangement Israel is leading force and US acts as a junior partner. Although that may sound implausible, argument here is that Israel exerts decisive influence over US policy through military-industrial complex, financial levers, and significant involvement in US electoral politics. To the world, however, the nexus’s face is United States, because it remains the only global superpower. The nexus is attacking China on multiple fronts in a step-by-step, systematic way.

Its primary target is Communist Party of China (CPC) and country’s leadership. The CPC and its cadres are seen as principal obstacle to their plans. As long as CPC remains strong, strategies of “divide and rule” modeled on liberal democracy are difficult to implement and colour revolutions cannot easily be orchestrated. Therefore, the nexus seeks to undermine CPC internally by creating a wedge between the party and people. President Xi Jinping is singled out in particular, regarded as architect of modern China and person driving China’s international rise; hence he is the subject of intense malign campaigns.

The nexus has escalated a soft war against China using proxies - think tanks, NGOs, media organisations - to delegitimise China and its initiatives. For example, they brand Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as a “debt trap” despite the fact Western institutions such as IMF and World Bank have their own histories of conditional lending. The “debt trap” narrative is used to dissuade countries from joining or supporting the BRI.

They target economies of China and its partners by imposing sanctions and trade barriers. Pressure is applied on partner countries - for instance, pressuring Pakistan to distance itself from CPEC or face consequences from IMF and FATF. Pakistan has resisted, but has paid a heavy price over years: its economy has been choked, and it was put on FATF grey list. Coercive measures have also been directed at Chinese companies - a recent example being the seizure of Chinese assets and forced takeover of Chinese-owned firm Nexperia in The Netherlands.

The nexus seeks to create instability in regions where China has strategic interests, as seen in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Many experts argue US withdrawal from Afghanistan was partly aimed at using that country to project terrorism towards China. Evidence cited includes US continuing to send roughly $40 million monthly to Afghanistan after withdrawal and leaving behind or transferring large caches of weapons rather than destroying them. Those weapons, it is argued, were left to empower Taliban, which in turn is forming ties with countries like India and possibly with actors aligned to US and Israeli interests. The broader plan is to use Taliban and Afghanistan to destabilise areas bordering China. The Taliban’s reported support for groups like Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is cited as an example: after Afghanistan’s foreign minister visited New Delhi, reports emerged of increased Taliban backing for TTP, which has led to civilian casualties in Pakistan and compelled Pakistani security responses. The anti-China nexus specifically targets Pakistan because it views Pakistan as a key obstacle to destabilising China’s neighbourhood. The nexus aims to drive a wedge between Pakistan and China to deter other countries from strengthening ties with Beijing. To that end, it simultaneously promotes terrorism in Pakistan (with India-Taliban alignment cited as part of that strategy) and undermines CPEC to weaken Islamabad’s relationship with Beijing. Pakistan’s role as a stabilising security actor in Middle East is also unwelcome to Israel. Experts warn Afghanistan and Taliban could be used to foment unrest in Xinjiang as well.

To isolate China diplomatically and economically, the nexus punishes China’s partner countries. For example, US has imposed visa restrictions on certain Central American nationals and their relatives, alleging collusion with China to undermine rule of law. Washington also pressures allies to reduce trade with China.

The US and Israel are doing their best to destabilise Middle East to keep China out of the region. They fear China’s growing presence there would undermine their economic, energy, and security objectives; it would frustrate Israel’s ambitions for a “Greater Israel” and erode US dominance over energy resources and the regional security architecture, while harming US commercial interests.

Therefore, destabilising the region and undermining China’s interests are seen as essential. One tactic is to choke off Middle Eastern energy supplies to China, which has recently emerged as the region’s largest energy importer.

To be continued...