Xi Jinping on Homeland Security

Cold War mindsets should be abandoned

He also said conditions in Ukraine had changed drastically. "China supports Russia negotiating with Ukraine to resolve the problem," Xi was quoted as saying. "China's basic position on respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries and abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter is consistent."

US ignored Russia's bottom line to keep Ukraine out of NATO

China's assessment of the crisis is being watched closely, with Beijing in a quasi alliance with Moscow and both nations in an increasingly intense stand-off with Washington. Xi and Putin met most recently in February on the sidelines of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

After the meeting, both nations said they opposed the expansion of NATO, describing it as a cold war approach to international affairs. The two nations said no state should ensure its security "at the expense of the security of other states".

Supports party's goal of building a strong military

"Building a people's army that follows the party's command, can fight and win, and has excellent conduct is the party's goal of building a strong military."
--Xi Jinping in 2013

The official defense budget has been less than 2% of GDP since at least 2008, but as the economy keeps growing that's meant more money to pay for a modern military that's expanding its navy, air force, missile force and reportedly increasing the number of nuclear warheads it possesses.

"We will focus on building China's image as a major civilized country."
--Xi Jinping in 2013

China's rising economic power has dovetailed with a deterioration in its standing among Western nations. Pew Research Center surveys show attitudes toward China becoming more unfavorable in recent years. The reasons are numerous: human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, vagueness over the origins of Covid-19, trade wars with the U.S. and Australia, a border spat with India... and increasing hostility toward Taiwan.

Defend territorial sovereignty and land border security

To the extent that Beijing sees a close link between reinforcing a "common identity of the Chinese nation" and consolidating control over China's ethnic minority-populated land frontier, modulation in Beijing's current policy toward these regions may not be over the horizon. Beijing could invoke the law to close China's border to prevent the spillover of terrorism and extremism from Central Asia, an influx of refugees from North Korea, Myanmar, or Afghanistan, or the spread of a pandemic.

Beijing suspects US is behind protests in Hong Kong