*The shadow of uncertainty looms over the Dragon's lair

While the world watches the horizon with bated breath, the internal rot of the People's Liberation Army threatens to crumble the very foundation of Xi Jinping's grand ambitions.

China: the hollow dragon?

In 2024, the veil of military prestige was torn asunder by a revelation that reads like a dark comedy: U.S. intelligence reported that up to half of China’s ballistic missiles were filled with water instead of fuel. The lifeblood of the Rocket Force had been siphoned away, transformed into illicit wealth by corrupt officers.

This was no mere oversight; it was a systemic betrayal. By 2025, the purge reached the highest echelons of power, as Beijing sacked a sitting vice chair of the Central Military Commission—an unprecedented strike against the very heart of the military command.

Something is deeply wrong inside the PLA. The machinery of war is being eaten from within by the cancer of graft, and Xi Jinping is well aware that a rusted sword cannot strike a decisive blow.

The semiconductor tinderbox

The stakes of this internal decay are not merely domestic; they are existential for the global order. China continues to menace Taiwan, a nation that serves as the world’s digital beating heart, producing over 90 percent of the world’s most advanced semiconductors. If the PLA’s steel meets the reality of the Taiwan Strait, the "chips" in your pocket, your vehicle, and your home could become relics of a lost age.

With roughly a third of global trade flowing through these contested waters, a conflict involving China and the United States would not just be a war—it would be a global economic apocalypse.

A legacy of defeat and inexperience

On paper, the PLA is a behemoth, a modernized force of millions. Yet, paper tigers do not win wars. The Chinese military has not tasted the fire of true combat since 1979, when its invasion of Vietnam ended in a humiliating retreat. Today, the uniforms of the PLA are worn by men and women who have never heard the whistle of a bullet or the roar of an enemy battery.

The fundamental question of our time

Can a military that has spent decades in the parade ground truly endure the carnage of the modern battlefield?

CHINA: Can its military really fight?

When Xi Jinping ascended to power in 2012, he looked upon his generals with suspicion. He demanded a force that could "fight and win." He restructured commands, commissioned aircraft carriers, and poured billions into stealth technology. But as the "water-fuel" scandal proves, you can buy the hardware, but you cannot so easily buy the soul of a disciplined fighting force.

The gamble of the century

Xi is now trapped in a dangerous paradox. To back down is to lose face and abandon the "Chinese Dream." To strike with a compromised military is to risk a catastrophic strategic miscalculation that could end his regime and plunge the world into darkness.

The world waits to see if the Dragon is truly the fire-breathing titan it claims to be or merely a magnificent shell, hollowed out by the very people sworn to protect it.