“Personal attacks, hazy memory, mocking each other .  .  . this debate was very entertaining for many Chinese people,” wrote China’s most famous propagandist, Hu Xijin, on X, a few hours after the conclusion of the CNN presidential debate. “Objectively speaking, the low-quality performance of these two old men was a negative advertisement for Western democracy.”

Was the much-anticipated debate also a signal for Beijing to launch an invasion? Unfortunately, make that a “yes.”

The official Chinese reaction was muted. “China adheres to the principle of non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs and does not comment on issues related to the U.S. presidential election,” Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C., told Newsweek. “At the same time, we oppose the U.S. frequently making an issue of China in the election.”

At the same time, China’s propaganda machine, predictably, went into high gear tarring everything about the event, but the most consequential criticism was voiced by America’s friends and partners, especially in Europe, which strongly favors President Joe Biden, and even in the Middle East, where pro-American leaders are largely in former President Donald Trump’s camp.

“Marcus Aurelius was a great emperor but he screwed up his succession by passing the baton to his feckless son Commodus (he, from the Gladiator),” wrote Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski on X, immediately after the debate. “Whose disastrous rule started Rome’s decline. It’s important to manage one’s ride into the sunset.”

China’s leader must also have noticed Biden’s dreadful debate performance and the evident decline in his faculties. Even before the event, Xi Jinping was arrogant, propagating the line that he’s already in charge of the world. “Change is coming that hasn’t happened in 100 years,” the Chinese leader said in March of last year to Vladimir Putin. “And we are driving this change together.”

Now, Xi is bound to be even more bold. We do not know whether he has in fact made the decision to go to war, but he has obviously made the decision to risk war.

Xi is risking war across China’s eastern and southern periphery. In the Himalayas, Chinese troops have advanced deep inside Indian-controlled land, and Beijing has announced claims to large portions of that neighbor’s territory, such as Arunachal Pradesh. In the East China Sea, Chinese vessels are swarming the Senkaku Islands, which Beijing, with little justification, claims as its own. In the South China Sea, China, in defiance of a dozen war warnings from the Biden State Department and the president himself, is engaging in bellicose activities against the Philippines. In the Taiwan Strait, Chinese planes and vessels regularly operate close to the island republic.

“They don’t respect him,” Trump said during the debate about Biden, referring to Xi Jinping, Kim Jong Un, and Vladimir Putin. “They don’t fear him.” The former president is right. Biden looked incapable Thursday night.

The consequences could be catastrophic. They may already be so. Said Trump, “the whole world is blowing up under him.”

When Trump left office, the world was indeed peaceful. After Biden’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, however, Russia, with China’s blessing and across-the-board support, invaded Ukraine; China and Russia have fueled insurgencies in North Africa that look like wars; and Iran, with Beijing’s backing and material aid, launched attacks on Israel through Hamas and its other terrorist proxies.

“He will drive us into World War III, and we’re closer to World War III than anybody can imagine,” Trump declared during the debate.

Is global war coming? In the 1930s, there were separate conflicts that merged into what we call “World War II.” Today, scattered wars could similarly combine to form World War III.

China, on Thursday evening, saw a president who at times looked dazed and confused and a challenger ready to confront Beijing. We have to be concerned that Xi Jinping sees a limited window of opportunity to achieve what he believes are historic ambitions.

Warning signs at this moment are flashing red: The debate was a big green light for Xi to start more wars and further destabilize the world before noon on January 20 of next year.

About the Author: Gordon G. Chang 

Gordon G. Chang is the author of The Coming Collapse of China and China Is Going to War. Follow him on X @GordonGChang.

All images are Creative Commons.