Beijing's Bluster Militia
In response to Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te's remark labeling China as a "foreign hostile force," Beijing has ramped up military activities around Taiwan. The Chinese People's Liberation Army introduced a brand new generation of Shuqiao landing barges, which are specifically for potential amphibious assaults on the island.
These shallow-draft ships, like WWII D-Day boats, enhance China's capacity to landing troops and cargo on the 20 beaches along Taiwan which are favorable for conventional assaults. This action comes in the aftermath of China stepping up efforts at suppressing Taiwanese pro-independence moves.
An annual US spy report avers that despite China's hopes for unification through peaceful means, China will most probably employ widespread coercion against Taiwan.
Military Technology Advances
China has gone far in advancing military technology, accelerating large-scale modular landing barges and deep-sea cable cutters.
These advances, revealed by satellite images, show an advancement in the amphibious invasion capacity of China. The landing barges, located close to Zhanjiang and being WWII Mulberry harbors-sized, allow for rapid offloading of military equipment.
Also, China's cable cutters can sever undersea communications cables deep below the water's surface. Even though these technologies exhibit readiness for potential military use against Taiwan, they also purportedly have civilian uses.
Taiwan's defense ministry verifies these advances and will be conducting Chinese invasion simulations during its annual Han Kuang exercises.
Global Responses and Economic Impacts
The United States has responded to China's technological advancements by adding over 50 Chinese firms to its export blacklist, in an attempt to roll back gains in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and military technology.
The move is one of the recent developments in a broader initiative by the Department of Commerce, which added 80 foreign entities, including the UAE, South Africa, and Iran, to the list for national security reasons.
Notably, six units of China's top cloud computing provider, Inspur Group, were included. The Chinese Embassy condemned these actions, accusing the U.S. of politicizing trade and technology matters.
Read U.S. sanctions update
In the financial sector, Morgan Stanley raised its year-end targets for the MSCI China index and other Chinese share indexes by 8-9%, anticipating higher profits due to:
✅ Aggressive cuts in earnings
✅ Cost-cutting measures by companies
✅ Increased investment in higher tech and AI
However, risks may be U.S.-China tensions, particularly post- Trump's America First Investment Memorandum, leading to investment restrictions in strategic sectors.
Impact on stock market