Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps What's China Up To?
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Feb 23, 2026 
Bill Bishop, China analyst and Sinocism author, offers sharp, on-the-ground perspective. He discusses Xi’s purge of PLA leadership and motives behind it. They cover China’s 15th Five-Year Plan, military modernization toward the PLA centenary, and Taiwan’s deterrence dilemmas. Technology topics include surveillance, AI (DeepSeek), and semiconductor constraints shaping China’s strategic choices.
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Five Year Plan Focuses On Tech Self Reliance
- The 15th Five‑Year Plan emphasizes frontier tech and self‑reliance to blunt external chokeholds and financial warfare risks.
- Policies push semiconductor, clean energy, stockpiling and alternative payment networks to reduce vulnerability to sanctions.
Strengthen Financial Defenses Against Sanctions
- Harden financial resilience by boosting RMB usage, alternative payments, and domestic financial safeguards to reduce vulnerability to sanctions.
- The Five‑Year Plan includes steps to increase international RMB use and weaponize financial infrastructure less against China.
Political Influence Remains Beijing's Preferred Path
- Beijing prefers political accommodation over kinetic action and invests heavily in influence operations targeting Taiwan's politicians and businessmen.
- PLA rehearsals aim to encircle and blockade Taiwan, making a non‑kinetic coercion pathway plausible and dangerous.