If you think the deterioration in relations between America and China is just a temporary situation that will be reversed in the near term, think again. Just because Chinese leaders do not emulate dementia Joe Biden and yell out insults, this does not mean that the Chinese are apathetic. Just the opposite. They are furious.

When the United States chose to shoot down the Chinese balloon (Beijing insists it was a weather balloon, the U.S. claims it was a spy platform) without contacting the Chinese Government, the Chinese initially expressed their outrage by refusing to accept a phone call from U.S. Secretary of Defense Austin. Austin continues to ask for a telephone conversation between the defense ministers of the two countries to discuss the situation around the weather balloon, but Beijing refuses to do so.

The Chinese then vowed to retaliate. but did not initially spell out what those countermeasures would entail. Then, last Thursday, Beijing announced sanctions and fines against two key American defense companies due to their participation in arms sales to Taiwan: Lockheed Martin Corp. and a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies Corp.

The Biden Administration had a choice — take steps to try to repair relations with China or double down on antagonizing Beijing. Joe Biden and his feckless team, who have a knack for doing the wrong thing, opted to poke the Chinese in the eye. This week, the U.S. Department of Defense and Department of State, claimed they had intelligence that China was preparing to give Russia military aid and warned China in the strongest terms not to do so.

Talk about hypocrisy. The United States is free to supply Ukraine with billions in weapons and equipment but declares itself the sole arbiter to decide who China can support with military aid. Beijing was not amused:

“The so-called ‘US intelligence’ [about Russian arms supplies] is speculation and slander against China,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.

Wang Wenbin did not stop there. He accused the United States of being the greatest threat to peace on the earth:

The United States violates the sovereignty of other countries the most and interferes in the internal affairs of other countries;

America is the largest producer of war;

The US has not been at war in just 16 years of its 240-year history;

The United States has initiated about 80% of the armed conflicts in the world since the end of World War II;

After the end of World War II, the US tried to overthrow more than 50 foreign governments;

Violently interfered in elections in at least 30 countries and tried to assassinate more than 50 foreign leaders;

NATO wars against Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria under the US have resulted in over 900,000 deaths and 37 million refugees.

As long as America’s hegemonic policies and warlike tendencies continue, there will be no peace in the world.

You may be shocked by what I am about to tell you — the Chinese monitor U.S. media and pay attention to what the various think tanks that populate Washington, D.C. write and do. The Center for Strategic and International Studies aka CSIS recently war gamed a scenario where China is provoked and invades Taiwan. The CSIS players concluded that:

The Chinese military capabilities are comparable to the U.S. but ultimately the US could defeat an attempted amphibious landing on Taiwan;
Taiwan’s infrastructure and industry would be destroyed but it would maintain its political autonomy, trading its physical existence in to maintain its political existence;

Here is Brian Berletic providing a detailed breakdown of the war game:

China, for its part, is doing some war games with its new partners. During the past week China, along with Russia and South Africa, took part in a joint naval exercise. China’s participation was not sparked by the latest tensions with Washington. The planning for this exercise started 18 months ago. Nevertheless, it does show that China is serious about forging with ties outside the orbit of the U.S.

Joint naval exercises of China, Russia and the Republic of South Africa will improve the skills of the BRICS countries in ensuring maritime security. This was stated on Thursday by the official representative of the Ministry of Defense of the People’s Republic of China Tan Kefei.

The era of the United States dictating to China is over. While the Chinese will try to avoid a shooting war with Washington, America should not make the mistake of confusing Chinese restraint and patience with weakness. The dragon is awake.