The western media is very focused on Russia and Russian bad behavior, while ignoring China’s bad behavior and the reality that China is the much bigger threat overall. Former CIA officer Mike Baker appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience last year, where he discussed China’s long-term strategy to become the hegemonic power on Earth. The CCP has gained strength by stealing technology and is now using that technology to surveil and threaten the people of the world.
Joe Rogan: They have this plan… 2049, to be the global superpower of the world, to take the place of what America used to be. And to do it their way.
Mike Baker: “It means we’re are going bypass all the costs and the heaylift of research over the years. And we’re just going to steal everything. And they’ve been doing it for decades. So, people think China, it’s a problem. People think this is something relatively new, or it popped up in the last administration of Trump.And honest-to-God truth, it has been going on for decades. And they decided that this is how they are goiing to get to the top of the foodchain. By stealing shit. It is a lot easier to hoover up everything and then reverse engineer it. And the technology has made it even easier. They used to out to recruit somebody, find a Chinese American working for a company here in the States, they’d appeal to “you gotta help the motherland”… And that was the old school way of doing it. Cybertheft, it is incredible what they are able to do.,, The initial focus was intelligence, but then it branched out very, very quickly to hit everything: small companies, medium-sized companies. The Chinese regime, and their intel operations, they’ve got this long vision. And they’ve got the resources. And they’ve got the desire to hoover up everything and then sort it out later.
Where the US intelligence services typically look for ways to obtain targeted information, the Chinese approach is to gather everything and then sift through it patiently. It suggests that Chinese intelligence will grow as a threat as time goes on — that they will garner insights from data already collected which will be weaponized against adversaries. One of the major consequences of this long-run policy is to develop knowledge and capabilities to threaten the infrastructure of USA and other countries.
Joe Rogan: They shut down the power grid in India, allegedly
Mike Baker: China’s ability to interfere with our infrastructure here or with our allies is because for years now, they’ve been probing… all three grids are fucked. It is like a patchwork quilt. And they were never built to withstand physical attacks… and they certainly not built to withstand a cyber attack. So over the years, what goes on is essentially a mapping exercise… they are in there probing, trying to understand the weaknesses and they are drawing up a map. And sitting on a desk, not too far from Xi’s desk is playbook that says, “if this thing escalates, here’s what we are going to do.” [Think about the power being out] lasting for 8, 10, 12 weeks around the country. What happens? You can’t transport shit. You can’t get cash. Fuel doesn’t get to the gas stations. Food doesn’t get to the stores. Depending on the time of year, heat issues, water supplies. And that’s where the next big battle is going to be fought.
As an example of this long-term strategy of asset development, Baker describes how the placement of a student as an undergrad can be the first step of getting that person in position to be an asset for the Chinese government 30 years later. Understanding that the CCP has this long-run view may cause us to interpret less apparently threatening activities as part of a methodical plan to win total domination.