On Thursday, China’s ruling Communist Party set the groundwork for President Xi Jinping to be re-elected after this year.
The CCP hailed his part in the country’s growth as a strategic and economic superpower; they also endorsed a historical background that elevates Xi with the party’s most powerful figures.
Ruler for Life
As they finished up a leadership conference, officials of the Central Committee proclaimed Xi’s doctrine to represent the “heart of Chinese society.”
A party announcement said it was “of critical importance” for “the great rebirth of the Chinese country,” in uncharacteristically effusive rhetoric, even for a Chinese leader.
Xi is largely anticipated to seek a third five-year tenure as party secretary-general, having amassed more power and influence than any ruler since Deng Xiaoping in the 1980s.
This would defy a two-decade-old party precedent, which calls for the 68-year-old chairman to resign next year.
China’s Communist Party raised Xi Jinping to the official stature of Mao Zedong, paving the way for him to claim a third five-year term as the country’s leader. An intense propaganda campaign is sure to follow. https://t.co/014sVcJyEr pic.twitter.com/2zE64AbqRx
— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 11, 2021
The party’s historical decision is just the third since its formation a hundred years ago under Mao Zedong, the first communist dictator.
Another was under Deng, who initiated reforms that converted China into an economic superpower. The choice to issue one under Xi elevates him to their level symbolically.
China’s Been Building Capabilities
The US Defense Department published its yearly report on Chinese military power, days ago; it included “machine learning” 20 times. The study echoed long-held worries that China’s People’s Revolutionary Army is committed to investing in “smart warfare.”
This is a strategic plan dedicated to making Chinese military hardware and combat actions more interconnected and independent; machine learning could “change the future of wars, faster than anticipated.”
NEW: A lack of top-tier intelligence on Xi Jinping’s inner circle is frustrating senior Biden administration officials, according to current and former officials who have reviewed the most sensitive U.S. intelligence reportshttps://t.co/61iFBHT3P2
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— Peter Martin (@PeterMartin_PCM) November 10, 2021
The so-called artificial intelligence armed conflict helped define arguments over the U.S.-China rivalry. The notion the two countries are competing for dominance in AI — and that China, in particular, is gaining ground — has attracted high-profile proponents, as well as critics.
While much of the conversation, such as the DoD study, centered on China’s long-term grand intentions of becoming an AI powerhouse, it’s been less obvious what the country is doing in the near period to make those goals a reality.
A new analysis based exclusively on open-source data reveals China is already incorporating machine learning into its war tactics, as well as its aspirations to obtain prospective Ai technologies.
The government of China is “intelligent sizing” warfare by buying AI technologies for a variety of uses; these uses include automated driving, intelligence analysis, predictive modeling, cyberwarfare, and cyber operations, according to our findings.
Simultaneously, researchers found cause to be cautious of the direst forecasts regarding China’s ambitions to fully automate warfare using doomsday-style weaponry.
The examination of the PLA’s purchasing habits may be most significant for U.S. officials; this demonstrates how Chinese success in combat AI is fueled in part by access to U.S. technology, intellectual property, and cash.
The importance of U.S. corporations in supplying Beijing with information, software, and money is highlighted in our analysis.
