The Pentagon released its annual China Military Power Report, asserting that China’s military buildup is aimed at displacing the United States as the world’s leading power. The report says the PLA explicitly measures itself against the U.S. as a “strong enemy” and pursues a whole-of-nation mobilization strategy Beijing calls “national total war,” as quoted by US Naval Institute News.
The report claims that China’s expanding “nuclear, maritime, long-range strike, cyber, and space capabilities” increasingly threaten the U.S. homeland. It highlights cyberespionage campaigns such as Volt Typhoon as evidence that China could disrupt U.S. critical infrastructure and military operations in a conflict.
The report also assesses that the PLA is progressing toward 2027 goals that include the ability to achieve a “strategic decisive victory” over Taiwan, creating a “strategic counterbalance” to the United States, and exerting regional deterrence. “In other words,” says the Pentagon report, “China expects to be able to fight and win a war on Taiwan by the end of 2027.”