The Gathering Storm Series: Part 10 – The Dragon’s Cracked Scales: Xi Jinping’s Waning Grip
Empires don’t fall with a bang. They rot from within.
Today’s China—bloated with debt, braced by propaganda, and bruised by unrest—carries all the signs.
The illusion of strength endures. But behind the red banners and state slogans, a storm brews within the dragon’s chest. Xi Jinping’s grip isn’t firm. It’s frantic.
Factories Close. Tempers Rise.
The U.S. tariffs—now above 140% on key Chinese goods—are biting deep.
Electronics plants are shuttering across Guangdong and Zhejiang. Some 16 million workers are at risk. Protests are rising—workers demanding wages, justice, dignity.
Across the cities, there are no signs of strength. Only silence and smoke.
The Chinese people are angry. And the Communist Party has no answer but control.
A Nation Hollowed by Debt
The numbers tell the tale.
China’s local governments owe more than $9 trillion. Real estate giants like Evergrande collapse like paper towers. Projects remain half-built, homes uninhabitable, trust evaporated.
No growth. No birthrate. No path forward.
The country grows older while the economy slows. It cannot build enough to sustain itself. It cannot pivot fast enough to escape.
The Party Isn’t Unified. The Military Isn’t Quiet.
Xi’s purges haven’t secured loyalty. They’ve sown doubt. Generals disappear. Ministers resign. A quiet rebellion brews behind closed doors—where survival now means staying quiet, not standing firm.
Michael Pillsbury warns, “The scenario haunting Xi is Soviet-style isolation.”
China faces export bans, tech blocks, and investor flight. It is a closed circuit of promises—none of which can be kept without the world buying in.
Gordon Chang goes further: “This is end-of-regime behavior.”
Aggression abroad. Repression at home. The rage of a leadership that knows the clock is ticking.
Proxy Fires Spark
While Xi rattles sabers in Taiwan and the South China Sea, a more dangerous proxy war simmers between India and Pakistan. A terrorist attack kills 26 Hindu tourists in Kashmir. India responds with strikes. China, never far from Pakistan’s side, signals support.
The U.S. and India watch. So does the world.
This is not just tension. It is alignment. Two great nations staring across regional lines, each backed by rival giants.
If the dragon cannot strike directly, it will strike through others.
The Myth of Parity is Cracking
Xi’s claim that China stands shoulder-to-shoulder with America is no longer whispered with confidence. The tariffs—far from a nuisance—are a sledgehammer.
Factories fall. Capital flees. Confidence collapses.
And still, Xi insists all is well.
But no one believes him anymore.
Final Thought: Hollow Power, Rising Risk
The dragon looks large. But look closer.
Its scales are cracked.
Its tail is tangled.
Its fire is failing.
Inside the belly of the beast, the people stir. The generals grumble. The empire that promised strength now serves only itself.
This is not a peaceful rise. It is a reckless gamble.
And the question is not whether Xi Jinping will fall.
The question is what collapses with him.
“The façade holds. Until it doesn’t.”