The World That China Wants: Part I in a Series https://scholars-stage.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-world-that-china-wants-part-i-why.html

For a long time I have been saying things like, "If you want to understand the world the Communist Party of China is trying to build, and what it means for America--just look at what they say!"

They are quite open about their grand intentions and goals in their authoritative documents and guidelines. This is probably because they *need* to be in order to coordinate the enormous number of people and initiatives they control.

But there is a problem:

There really isn't one document that has everything you need to know in it. It is sort of like a puzzle, with pieces hidden in hundreds of different documents, many of which can only be understood in reference to something Mao said back in '48 or what have you.

Compiling these statements into a coherent whole is a task that stands beyond me. But not beyond everybody. This year two reports have been published that do the hard grunt work of pulling all of this material together and helping it cohere.

The first is a congressional testimony written by Daniel Tobin. You can find that here: https://www.uscc.gov/sites/default/files/testimonies/SFR%20for%20USCC%20TobinD%2020200313.pdf

The second is a report prepared by Nadege Rolland. You can find that here: https://www.nbr.org/publication/chinas-vision-for-a-new-world-order/

You should read these two documents. Most of you won't--but that is what this blog post is for. It is the first of four posts I have planned that will summarize what Tobin and Rolland have to say about the Chinese Communist Party's plan to reshape the world in its image.

I will roll these posts out over the next month. But for today start with this first post, a modest defense of an idea that both Tobin and Rolland embrace: we should not just analyze the current capabilities of the PRC, but the stated intentions and plans of its leaders.