China’s recent state visit bought two months of trade peace.But it did not buy Beijing time on the fleet it has already launched and will soon be unable to afford.Chinese President Xi Jinping walked a red carpet in Washington for his first state visit to the United States in more than a decade.
President Donald Trump greeted him at Joint Base Andrews.There were troop reviews, a state dinner, pandas, an artificial intelligence (AI) "dialogue" and a two-month extension of a trade truce now set to expire Jan.
10.Xi told the cameras the two powers "should coexist in peace." He also pressed Trump to handle Taiwan with "prudence" and oppose independence.On the minerals that make missiles, drones and warships work, Beijing’s readout went silent.
The White House said only that the two sides would "continue to work on" rare-earth shortages — practically meaning America will press hard to address its supply vulnerabilities.TRUMP-XI REUNION COMES WITH UNFINISHED BUSINESS — AND A BIGGER BATTLE LOOMINGBeyond the pleasantries in Washington — it costs little to be polite and talk is far cheaper than war — China continues to press forward on a war footing, launching warships at a breathtaking pace.In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, China's third conventionally powered aircraft carrier, the Fujian, conducts a maiden sea trial on May 7, 2024.(Ding Ziyu/Xinhua via AP)Communist China’s problem is no longer whether it can build a navy.
It built one.The problem is whether it can keep one after 2031.IS THE US ALREADY LOSING TO CHINA ON INNOVATION, LOGISTICS AND RAPID RESUPPLY?Procurement is the cheap year.
Operations and maintenance are not cheap.For a modern navy, operating and support costs commonly consume 60% to 70% of a ship’s life-cycle cost.
The People’s Liberation Army Navy spent a decade in series production: destroyers, frigates, carriers, conventional and nuclear submarines.But if overhaul rates on these new ships resemble the old ones, the h...