Assessing China’s Military and Its Midcentury Goal

Cathy Johnston spent 33 years in the Intel Community mostly focused on Asia. Her last assignment was as the Deputy Director of Intelligence at the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

Mike Studeman is the former Commander of the Office of Naval Intelligence and a retired Rear Admiral. He is a member of NBR’s Board of Advisors.

Michael Wills is President of NBR.

Timestamps

[1:34] How far along is the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to achieving its goal of building a world class military by 2049?

[6:21] Weaponizing the information domain and cyberwarfare

[11:18] What are the implications of China’s military buildup for countries in its near abroad; how are countries like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the Philippines reacting to this buildup; and what does it mean for their bilateral relationships?

[21:06] How well integrated are the PLA Navy and the China Coast Guard, and to what extent are they coordinating for potential contingencies in the Taiwan Strait and the East and South China Seas?

[24:13] How well integrated are the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard for potential coordinated responses to such scenarios?

[29:03] Looking at the PLA as an institution, reports surface every few months of investigations into senior military leaders over corruption or of them disappearing from public view. To what extent do the CCP and Xi Jinping trust their military leadership’s ability to execute missions?

[40:30] What should senior military leaders at INDOPACOM and civilian leaders in Washington, D.C. prioritize to sustain deterrence against the PLA as its aggressive behavior increases?

[42:08] How well does the U.S. intelligence community understand the Chinese decision-making system and thought processes? How accurately do we assess China’s assessment of its own comprehensive national power, and how is that influencing Xi Jinping’s decisions?