The US officials were left stunned on Saturday when a Financial Times report revealed that Beijing had tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in August this year. The missile circled the earth at low orbit before speeding towards its target, demonstrating advanced space war capabilities that China has achieved, far advanced than the US officials had realized. Though the hypersonic missile missed its target by 20 miles, the demonstration was enough to lay bare the USA’s slumber on China’s wide strides in the hypersonic weapons arena.
China’s demonstration of the advanced hypersonic technology and the USA’s sleepwalk
China’s bold portrayal of its missile technology is indeed concerning and threatening for the world; however, the USA’s sleepwalk on the issue is more terrifying. China has now garnered the ability of striking nuclear missiles at any point of earth in no time, and that too without letting the target know about any such imminent attack.
Make no mistake, unlike traditional ballistic missiles, a hypersonic missile is manoeuvrable, making it harder to track and defend against. What is more alarming is the fact that in the case of China launching a hypersonic nuclear missile against the US, it won’t be able to defend itself given its questionable ability to track and take down a flying hypersonic weapon.
The worst part is, the US can’t even deploy similar missiles to deter any Chinese menace, given Washington’s binding nuclear agreements with Moscow. The previous Trump administration was willing to include China in any such binding arrangement that would have rendered China’s hypersonic missile deployment ambitions impuissant. This February, the Biden administration had extended a key nuclear arms treaty with Russia just days before it was set to expire. The ill-thought move at Biden’s behest paved the way for the Chinese to march ahead with its nuclear ambitions to nullify the USA’s dominance in the Indo-Pacific.
How Bill Clinton equipped China with missile technology
While the Biden administration’s unwillingness to counter the burgeoning Chinese threat has reached staggering levels, the USA’s bolstering of the Chinese missile program dates back to the days of Bill Clinton’s administration. This may sound astonishing to you, but this is the truth—The US had equipped China with missile technology under former President Bill Clinton.
It was in August 1994, when Clinton’s Secretary of Commerce, Ron Brown, touched down in China to seal deals for two American corporations. The first was to enable Chrysler the ability to build minivans in China, and the second deal was to persuade the Chinese to buy 40 MD-90 aircraft ‘Trunkliners” from McDonnell Douglas.
The second deal was particularly important to keep the cash-strapped Douglas afloat. There was also politics involved. Clinton had managed to secure the presidency in 1992 riding on the wave of his unofficial political campaign slogan, “it’s the economy stupid,” and a big commercial deal on the eve of mid-term elections of 1994 would have been an icing on the cake.
China sensed the urgency on Clinton’s part and finally agreed to hammer out the deal, but with a caveat. The Chinese wanted Douglas to sell some specialized tools that shape and bend aircraft parts stashed in a factory in Ohio. Those were not some ordinary tools, but, as experts pointed out, “the machines would enable the Chinese military to improve significantly the performance abilities — speed, range and maneuverability — of their aircraft. And if diverted, they could do the same for missiles and bombers.”
A commercial deal that took a massive toll upon the US’ national interests
When some Chinese representatives tried to visit the factory in Ohio that stored the tools wanted by the China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation, they got harassed by the workers who won’t let them see the crucial parts. Later on, a message was sent to Douglas that if it wanted to save the Trunkliners deal, it must sell them these tools and machines.
So, despite the vehement protest from the Pentagon and some Republican lawmakers, the commerce department and Douglas cleared the deal, while securing a pledge from the Chinese that they won’t use these tools to build missiles. A New York Times report embodies the fraudulent behaviour shown by the short-sighted Clinton administration in a paragraph saying, “American officials want to avoid sending any signals that would fuel China’s belief that the United States is trying to ”contain” China’s power, militarily or economically. And they know that if they deny a range of industrial technology to China, other competitors — chiefly France and Germany — are ready to leap in and fill the void.”
As dumb as the Clinton administration could get, the most crucial part of the equipment was delivered directly to a military plant in Nanchang. This shows how the Clinton administration knowingly powered the Chinese missile program, only for the short-term political and commercial gains, while putting national security interests on the backburner.
And when the Chinese got the hold of all the equipment, they simply chose to renege on the deal. They did not even buy Trunkliners from McDonnell Douglas. The brazen stupidity at Clinton’s part explains why the Chinese have never taken diplomacy seriously with the US. Instead of cutting the Chinese influence down to size, the US grew more tolerant to the Chinese economic intimidation and helped its economy grow exponentially in the coming years.
Let’s face the truth- Americans are now living at Jinping’s mercy. The ruling elites in the US have no spine left to stand up against the Chinese aggression. The US kept fuelling this blatant Chinese aggression for decades, for which groundwork was impeccably carried out by none other than Bill Clinton, the 42nd president of the United States of America.