Is China Ready for War in 2027?

As we await the “official” news from Trump’s upcoming meeting with the CCP in South Korea, I am reminded of the statement made in May of this year by John Moolenaar, Chairman of the House Committee on China. He did not mince words: “2027 is not an American date but a Chinese one.” By this, he was referencing Xi Jinping’s order for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to be ready to take Taiwan by force.

Moolenaar went on, “We are not seeking war. We are trying to prevent one. And prevention only works if Xi believes that the cost of aggression is too high to bear. You can’t invade Taiwan unless you can generate an invasion force—and that is what we must prevent.”

He further warned that the U.S. has overinvested in sea and air power while neglecting land-based forces that can deny the PLA its objective. “The PLA does not fear our ships and aircraft… What it fears is a credible force that can counter its Army… before it ever reaches Taiwan.”

Given that we realistically cannot ready our ground forces in 14 months, what if Xi’s military leadership is not ready to go to war?

One year ago, China watchers were stunned by the removal of Defense Minister Doung Jun and numerous key officials at the PLARF (China’s Rocket Force responsible for nuclear weapons), shocked by how close these men were to Xi’s inner circle.

But none of them foresaw what took place just days before the CCP’s fourth Plenary Session, which began on October 20. Nine generals, including the Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, were expelled and stripped of their military ranks. Two purged officials were once key architects of China’s “Taiwan Strategy.”

Michael Zhuang of the Epoch Times writes, “Their downfall signals both a deepening purge within the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the potential disruption to China’s ability to coordinate any large-scale military action around Taiwan.

Gordon Chang, perhaps the most sought-after China expert in America, avers that we can’t negotiate with Xi because we don’t know who controls the military right now.