A superpower like the United States has resorted to playing the victim. That is almost bewildering. It remains unclear whether this reveals China's rising strength or America's weakening grip. Either way, a sobering sign of the times.
The dust has not yet settled after China's navy conducted an underwater launch of a submarine-launched ballistic missile into the Pacific on July 6. A US State Department official claimed that "China's notification to the United States came only a few hours before the launch and failed to provide sufficient detail, falling considerably short of standards adopted by all other P5 nuclear weapon states." A check of the US Department of Defense's website tells a different story. Washington is only telling half the truth, and such hypocrisy does not look good on the world stage.
The agreement actually being invoked reads as follows: "On May 31, 1988, in Moscow, U.S. Secretary of State Shultz and Soviet Foreign Minister Shevardnadze signed the Agreement on Notifications of ICBM and SLBM Launches. The Agreement provides for notification, no less than 24 hours in advance, of the planned date, launch area, and area of impact for any launch of an ICBM or SLBM. The Agreement also provides that these notifications be provided through the Nuclear Risk Reduction Centers. The Agreement entered into force on the date it was signed."
This is a bilateral pact between the United States and the Soviet Union, now 38 years old. Yet somehow, when it gets dredged up again, it "automatically" morphs into "the standard jointly observed by the UN Security Council's permanent five." How does that work? Perhaps the US and Russia believe they alone are qualified to represent the entire "P5." Perhaps the White House cannot even be bothered with proper wordplay anymore and simply decides it gets to set the rules for the whole world.
China, however, holds even more tricks up its sleeve. Following the usual rule that "one thing leads to another," a show of force from China's space program came hot on the heels of the missile launch. Global Times reported: "China's Long March 10B carrier rocket lifted off from the Hainan commercial space launch site at 12:15 pm on Friday. Approximately six minutes after the separation of the rocket’s first and second stages, the first stage made a vertical return and was successfully recovered by an offshore recovery platform.” It noted that it is the world’s first net-based recovery system.
Elon Musk's SpaceX has carried out multiple successful rocket recoveries in the past. Its mature technology has earned it the title of "the undisputed leader in global commercial spaceflight." This time, though, marks China's first successful rocket recovery using a net-capture system, and the first such feat achieved globally. It has been described as "China’s first successful implementation of controlled recovery of a launch vehicle’s first stage." In simple terms, China has developed its own recovery method, distinct from SpaceX's "vertical powered landing" approach. The advantage lies in lower fuel consumption compared to traditional vertical landings, plus lighter equipment since landing legs are not needed. This could well become a viable alternative path outside the US-dominated model.
China has already flexed its muscles in artificial intelligence. Seedance 2.0, unveiled earlier this year, showcased the dominance of homegrown Chinese technology. Then there is Huawei's "Tao chip," a disruptive force challenging Silicon Valley's grip on Moore's Law. If China now has its own model for reusable space rockets too, how many strongholds of advanced technology does the US have left to claim as its exclusive turf?
Of course, the US has its own playbook for going after China on all these fronts. It can slap China with accusations of copying or stealing technology. Just tack on the word "future" and call it "copying America's (future) technology." Suddenly Washington gains the moral high ground to demand explanations, or better yet, to slap on punitive tariffs whenever Trump feels like it.
Still, it has to be said that a submarine-launched intercontinental strategic missile, chips and AI, and space technology are not merely civilian tools. They are either purely military or dual-use instruments of national power. Together, they show that China's comprehensive national strength has pulled ahead of the US by a generational. What is truly unnerving is that China now stands to gain a real voice across technical standards, the international order, and trade rules alike.
When China rules the world, the US may one day struggle even to stage a convincing "victim" act. This matters. Ye be warned.
Deep Blue
** 博客文章文責自負,不代表本公司立場 **
Two stories have surfaced in mainstream Western media. Both come from European state broadcasters. Both are telling.
"On June 23, imprisoned Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai officially received the Deutsche Welle Freedom of Speech Award. His daughter, Lai Choi, accepted the award on her father's behalf at DW's headquarters in Bonn and sat down for an interview with DW." — Deutsche Welle
"June 24 marked the fifth anniversary of the forced closure of Apple Daily. Yet many Hong Kong people have clearly not forgotten the once outspoken and widely read newspaper, making a special trip to Taipei to view an exhibition tracing the paper's 26-year journey." — Radio France INternationale (RFI).
Deutsche Welle hands out a "Jimmy Lai Award." RFI follows with an "Apple Daily Fifth Anniversary" commemoration. The symbolism is profound. Matters of genuine international concern. And because both outlets carry state-broadcaster status, there is all the more reason to approach all reportings on Chinese affairs with cool-headed restraint. In China, the law now speaks clearly on such matters.
On March 12, 2026, China's National People's Congress passed the Law on the Promotion of Ethnic Unity and Progress, which takes effect on July 1. The law was enacted to "forge strong sense of community for Chinese nation". It comprises seven chapters and 65 articles, covering education, language, publishing, the internet, business activities, and religion. Its reach extends to Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and overseas Chinese communities.
The move has triggered unprecedented anxiety among foreign forces — that is, foreigners, foreign organizations, and institutions engaged in conduct hostile to China. A local Japanese councilor has warned citizens that "criticizing China's ethnic minority or religious policies while abroad, particularly openly supporting Taiwan, could be deemed a violation by Beijing." A British think tank has cautioned that "China is expanding the extraterritorial application of its laws to tighten cross-border pressure on overseas businesses, organizations, and individuals connected to Taiwan."
For those foreign forces who remain unclear about this law, let me state it plainly. Under Chinese law, Taiwan independence, Xinjiang independence, and Hong Kong independence are serious violations that split the nation and destroy ethnic unity. They will be pursued with full severity.
Consider a recent law enforcement action in Hong Kong. On June 24, the National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police Force conducted an operation, raiding the "Hunter Bookstore" in Sham Shui Po and arresting one local woman and one local man. The pair had been selling and displaying publications with seditious intent at the store, and had regularly organized talks and sharing sessions targeting young people and students. The sessions incited hatred toward the Hong Kong SAR Government, the judiciary, and law enforcement agencies.
Take note: among the allegedly unlawful items were publications sold at the "Hunter Bookstore" — including The Jimmy Lai Biography and works by cartoonist Zunzi.
This is not a legal lecture. But it is a story worth telling. In 2021, representatives from the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom used a United Nations venue to host a video conference. Reportedly attended by delegates from dozens of countries, the meeting focused on human rights issues in Xinjiang — allegations of concentration camps, forced labor, and even genocide. Yet those in attendance revealed no specific details and disclosed no investigative evidence. What was reported was simply that "various human rights issues allegedly exist in Xinjiang."
What was peculiar is that Western journalists, politicians, and academics declined to answer challenges from the "verifier": China. Instead, they demanded that China, the very party being accused, prove its own innocence. The verdict is plain: if the West were genuinely strong, this might be called audacious. If the West is merely posturing, it should be called shameless.
Western champions of human rights and democracy have long relied on fabricated material about the Chinese government's alleged suppression of ethnic minorities and so-called "democracy activists." This material is then recycled through mainstream Western media as pointed questions directed at China. The effect is an illusion where the false appears true and the true appears false. A convenient mechanism for "foreign forces" to attack China.
For years, the West has wielded the twin banners of human rights and democracy — augmented by so-called "Western press freedom" — as instruments to attack China's sovereignty without limit and undermine our national unity. This cannot be allowed to continue. Rather than engaging in endless back-and-forth, it is better to lay down clear rules and let everyone act accordingly.
