Commentary: Defining the legacy of Mao’s 100-Year Marathon

America is currently involved in a critical trade battle with China. This battle should have been waged many decades ago when China was not the powerful adversary America is now facing. Prior administrations ignored and neglected the dire threat China presented due to the erroneous belief that China was a “friendly” nation.

These administrations had their own prioritized projects that were more important to their political agendas. President Trump has taken a stand to force China to rectify their erroneous pattern of devastation with America as their target. He is receiving heat from many sections of the country but it is a plan that must succeed to secure America’s continued prosperity and flourishing future.

In 1949, at the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Mao Zedong created the 100-Year Marathon. What is the 100-Year Marathon? It is China’s objective to overcome America in all areas of America’s success. In those early years, America helped China in every area of China’s concerns. In retrospect, this was an erroneous decision. America believed that China was a weakened nation in need of our help. In those years, China’s economy more than doubled. We believed that China wanted to be just like us. We were mistaken. Whereas America always believes in the direct approach, the Chinese ethnic origin has favored the indirect over the direct with deception transparency.

China’s hawks have advised Chinese leaders, beginning with Mao Zedung, avenging a century of humiliation and aspired to replace America as the economic, military and political leader of the world by 2049. The 100-Year Marathon’s goal is to avenge and eliminate past foreign humiliations. Then China will be able to set up a world order without American global supremacy and revise the American-dominated economic and geopolitical world order. They believe that China can only succeed in this project through deception, or by denial of any frightening plans.

The Nine Principal Elements of The Chinese Hundred-Year Marathon:

1. Induce complacency to avoid alerting your opponent. China believes their success against any powerful adversary should never be provoked prematurely. China’s intentions must be completely guarded until the ideal moment to strike arrives.

2, Manipulate your opponent’s advisers: Chinese strategy emphasizes turning the opponents house upon itself by winning over influential advisors surrounding the opponents leadership. These efforts have long been a hallmark of China’s relations with America.

1. China’s belief that victory was achieved only after decades of careful, calculated waiting. Today, China’s leaders are executing this pattern of behavior by playing the waiting game.
2. For many decades China has been stealing their opponents’ ideas and technology for strategic gain. China is not prohibited as America is by legal enforcements and constitutional prohibitions. China discovered theft provides a relatively easy, cost-effective means by which a weaker state can usurp power from a powerful one.
3. Military might is not the critical factor for winning a long-term competition. This may explain why China has not devoted more resources to developing larger, more powerful military forces. Rather than relying on a brute accumulation of strength, Chinese strategy targets an enemy’s weak points and biding China’s time.
4. Recognize one’s adversary will take extreme actions to retain its dominant position. China’s strategy holds that America will not falter quietly as its power may decline relative to others. China’s strategy holds that America will seek to eliminate all actual and potential challengers.
5. Deceiving others into doing your bidding awaiting the point of maximum opportunity to strike.
6. China will measure its status relative to other potential challengers. Chinese strategy exalts a high premium on assessing China’s relative power, during peacetime and in war, beyond only military considerations. America has never attempted this concept.
7. China will be vigilant to avoid deception by others. China’s leaders believe that because all potential rivals are out to deceive them, China needs to respond with its own deception. China is never to be deceived by any adversary.

Former paramount leader Deng Xiaoping’s declaration from the early 1990s states “observe calmly, secure our position, cope with affairs calmly, hide our capabilities and bide our time; be good at maintaining a low profile and never claim leadership.”

China has sold missile technology to Iran, Libya and Syria who develop weapons of mass destruction, act aggressively toward their neighbors, arm terrorists and oppress their own people.

All of these factors are severe warnings to beware of China’s negotiating actions. President Trump must remain strong and vigilant during these upcoming negotiations. There must be a true establishment of equality between these two nations. China must be willing to maintain a true working relationship with America and establish a peaceful resolution to end the trade war elements that are harming all nations in today’s changing world.

May God always bless the United States of America.

Beverly Monahan is a resident of Dover.