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A foreign policy adviser from China’s top political advisory body has warned against the pursuit of “absolute national security” and too much emphasis on defence spending adding that it can lead to a soviet style collapse. In thinly veiled criticisms against hawkish outlooks on China’s national security strategy, Jia Qingguo, a member of China’s top political advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference said, the pursuit of “absolute national security” can extract a heavy price.
Jia, a specialist on US affairs wrote in the latest issue of the bimonthly Journal of International Security Studies “Too much emphasis on defence spending could trigger an arms race making all countries involved less secure”. He cited the collapse of the Soviet Union as proof of the pitfalls of putting military expansion over long-term security. The collapse of the Soviet Union, officially known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or USSR, ruled by the Soviet Communist Party has become a major study at top Communist Party of China (CPC) schools across the country to learn lessons and avert decisions that lead to its fall.
Many Chinese leaders have frequently referenced the erstwhile USSR and asked the CPC to learn from its historical experience. Months after assuming power in 2012, President Xi himself said that the breakdown in party disciplines led to the downfall of the erstwhile USSR’s 20 million-strong Communist Party. “If Party members did and said whatever they wanted, the party would turn into a mob,” Xi said. Jia, who was also a former dean of the international relations school at Peking University, says the unfettered pursuit of security “will see the costs go up drastically and the benefits go drastically down until the costs outweigh the benefits”, a Hong Kong based newspaper reported. “To ignore the comparative nature of security, and blindly pursue it absolutely will result in making the country less secure, as it inflicts unbearable costs and fails to achieve absolute security,” Jia, wrote.
Jia’s comments come as China faces its worst international headwinds especially from the West led by the US. It also comes at a time when Beijing has stiffened its grip on national security across all fronts, ranging from a tougher diplomatic stance, known as “Wolf Warrior diplomacy,” to stricter regulations on Big Tech companies. On the diplomatic front, Jia says ensuring national security requires a country to make more friends and fewer enemies, especially when it comes to managing ties with major powers and neighbours. 2022 is very important year in China as President Xi is expected to embark on a third term as its leader at the twice-a-decade Communist Party congress in autumn.