【By Guo Chaoren, Observers Network】

"China's strength is indeed astonishing."

"But once all technical means fail, our soldiers can always win the battle..."

In the podcast program "Shawn Ryan Show" aired on September 26, U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, while hyping China as the "greatest threat" facing the United States, also praised China's innovation capabilities and technological development level, saying that China benefits from its institutional advantages to look ahead, which is precisely the weakness of the American system.

He acknowledged China's formidable strength in areas such as artificial intelligence, but tried to compensate by saying that although China's technology may currently be quite effective, it might make the Chinese overly reliant on technical means. If these fail on the battlefield, he was "very optimistic" that the U.S.'s "high-quality soldiers" would win the battle.

When talking about China, this U.S. military official resorted to a string of clichés, viewing China as the "greatest threat" and the "pacing threat." He also turned the accusation back, accusing China of also seeing the U.S. as the "greatest threat."

"Their economy has made remarkable progress in the past few decades. Their ability to produce and export products, although not yet a war tool, can be converted into a war tool on a large scale, which is impressive."

He continued: "Their innovation capability, the number of doctors they have trained, and the number of patents they have obtained as a country are simply incredible."

U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll being interviewed

"Moreover, if you look at their long-term perspective and their tolerance for short-term pain, I think in some aspects, this may highlight a weakness of our system: we are unable to focus well on long-term goals. Our government system often forces us to pay more attention to short-term interests."

He said that, considering these characteristics, China is clearly a "pacing threat" to the United States.

It is worth noting that U.S. officials have repeatedly used the concept of "pacing threat" to describe their perception of China. According to former Deputy Secretary of Defense Hicks, a "pacing threat" refers to the need for the U.S. military to constantly monitor and surpass the pace of China's military development.

The host took over from Driscoll, saying, "In fact, they are already very close to us in many aspects, especially in the field of artificial intelligence... Although I don't want to say it, it seems that China is suppressing us in every aspect or has already reached a very close state. I have interviewed many innovators and tech people on my show, and they all hold the same view."

"China's strength is indeed astonishing," Driscoll replied, stating that China's ability to focus on a single goal for a long time brings many advantages, without suffering the consequences caused by the U.S. political cycle.

He exaggerated, saying that the significant technological breakthroughs of the past decade might make China "more aggressive."

He said that future wars involve unknown fields such as neural links, swarms of drones, and quantum computing, all of which are new things that exceed people's current predictive abilities.

He then changed his tone to boost himself.

"So, China's technology now does seem to be quite effective, but when we face war and conflict, we may quickly weaken their capabilities, and they may become overly dependent on these capabilities in combat, which will be their weakness."

"For example, their autonomous driving technology may be impressive in Beijing, and it may also play a role on the battlefield, but it could also completely fail."

He continued, saying that he did not know whether China, like the U.S., continuously invests resources in cultivating "high-quality soldiers."

"When all technical means fail, and it ultimately comes down to ground soldiers fighting based on the commander's intent, who will win? I am very optimistic that our soldiers can always win such battles," said Driscoll.

Regarding the U.S. and Western countries' hype about the so-called "China threat," the Chinese side has repeatedly emphasized that it hopes relevant countries should objectively and rationally view China and the development of the Chinese military.

On September 18, Minister of National Defense Dong Jun delivered a speech at the 12th Beijing Xiangshan Forum. Minister Dong Jun stated that the people who have experienced invasion, bullying, and oppression deeply detest the army becoming an accomplice of hegemonism and a tool for the abuse of force. As a peacekeeping force, the stronger the Chinese military becomes, the greater the power to restrain war will be, and the more secure world peace and development will be.

Not long ago, former U.S. Ambassador to China Burns warned at an event hosted by the non-profit organization "World Boston" that China's technological, military, and economic strength is far more powerful than the U.S. imagines, and the U.S. cannot continue to underestimate China.

When talking about China's military strength, he said that some people said the PLA hasn't fought for over 40 years and is not worth mentioning, "but I have seen the PLA with my own eyes, and I believe we have underestimated their military and technological strength."

Burns also said at the event that the Chinese leadership has strategic vision and can make long-term plans for ten or even thirty years. For example, for 35 consecutive years, the Chinese Foreign Minister has chosen Africa as the first visit in January each year, showing the Africans that they are a priority for China. In contrast, President Trump never went to Africa during his first term, and President Biden only visited Angola once.

Burns sighed that, in terms of strategic layout, the U.S. finds it difficult to compete with China.

This article is an exclusive article of Observer's Network. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7555397182073881126/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author and reader's attitude can be shown by clicking on the 【like/dislike】 buttons below.