US to Seize CCP Assets for COVID as Xi Plots Worst-Case Under New Trump Administration

In the storm of Trump 2.0, the United States state of Missouri has just won a historic lawsuit. On March 7, a federal judge ruled that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) should compensate Missouri with $24 billion USD for the COVID-19 disaster.

Meanwhile, a CCP think tank has determined that the Trump administration might hold the CCP accountable for the global spread of the pandemic by confiscating CCP-held US Treasury bonds and the overseas deposits of CCP officials. However, in such a critical situation, the CCP authorities currently exhibit a numbness and sluggishness akin to a "brain-dead" state.

Missouri's Historic Lawsuit Victory Against the CCP

On March 7, Missouri won its case seeking compensation from the CCP for the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. This case is obviously of great significance. It can serve as a model not only for other US states but also for other countries.

Missouri's Attorney General Andrew Bailey said in a statement, "This is a landmark victory for Missouri and the United States in the fight to hold China accountable for unleashing COVID-19 on the world."

Andrew Bailey also said, "China refused to show up to court, but that doesn't mean they get away with causing untold suffering and economic devastation. We intend to collect every penny by seizing Chinese-owned assets, including Missouri farmland."

*President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang attend the closing ceremony of the National People's Congress in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing (©Kyodo)*

CCP's Anticipation and Strategic Concerns

In fact, the CCP had already anticipated this ruling. According to insiders, a think tank under the Central Secretariat of the CCP recently submitted a research report on situational assessments to the CCP Central Committee. The think tank is chaired by Cai Qi, a close confidant of Xi Jinping. Cai is also a member of the Political Bureau of the CCP Central Committee.

The report believes that the Trump administration's aggressive actions both internationally and domestically, which appear reckless on the surface, may actually conceal significant strategic "conspiracies." Donald Trump might be clearing the periphery and creating conditions for a heavy strike against the CCP.

The report suggests that this heavy strike may not involve a tariff war or economic war. Rather, it could target the CCP over the global spread of COVID-19. In doing so, it would launch international public opinion and legal battles. This would create the conditions for seizing CCP-held US Treasury bonds and the overseas deposits of CCP officials. Moreover, it would also address the United States' own high debt crisis.

In short, the CCP believes that the US government might confiscate its US Treasury bonds and the overseas deposits of its officials to demand compensation for the global spread of COVID-19.

The report proposes that the ultimate way to counter Trump's COVID-19 virus accountability efforts is to initiate a war in the Taiwan Strait. This would amount to fighting a life-and-death battle with the US at the CCP's doorstep. The report also emphasizes the need to follow Xi Jinping's directive to "abandon illusions and prepare for struggle."

Trump 2.0 and the Shifting Global Landscape

Yuan Hongbing, a former Peking University professor, revealed the above information. He also stated that after the storm of Trump 2.0 emerged, it caused an unprecedented upheaval in the global landscape. America's international strategic focus is shifting from Europe to the Asia-Pacific region.

Faced with such a dramatic change, the CCP does not seem to be truly prepared. Nor does it have any senior officials to come forward and systematically explain how the CCP will respond to the American strategic adjustments.

CCP's 'Four Principles'

Interestingly, during such an "information vacuum," a video speech by a retired official went viral online.

The official is Huang Qifan. He is the former mayor of Chongqing and executive vice-chairman of the Academic Committee of the National Conference for Innovation and Development Strategy.

At a recent seminar, Huang Qifan said that in dealing with Trump 2.0, we already have experience because we dealt with him before. And the four strategic principles from five years ago are still effective.

*Screenshot of Huang Qifan speaking in a video. (Via Jennifer Zeng)*

The strategic principles are:

First, abandon illusions and prepare for struggle, and do not be swayed by Trump's sweet words;
Second, maintain strategic composure and confidence;
Third, uphold the CCP's bottom line while responding flexibly;
Fourth, focus on our own issues and address our shortcomings.

Plus China's 'Five Cards'

Huang Qifan also said that China has five cards to play in dealing with the American trade war, technology war, and capital war.

First is China's large market — a super-sized market is China's trump card.
Second, China's industrial chain clusters are another card; China has the world's most complete industrial chain clusters, which is the trump card of trump cards.
Third is China's financial controls. Its inability to freely convert the renminbi and the US dollar acts as a shield against external financial shocks.
Fourth is technology. Independent technological development is China's key card.
The fifth card is openness. Regardless of how the US blocks China, China will continue to support openness that benefits itself.

I think these claims are quite outdated. Perhaps only the idea of "abandoning illusions and preparing for struggle" is still relevant.

Under the current severe economic downturn and the withdrawal of foreign capital, China's large market and openness no longer hold appeal.

China does have relatively complete industrial supply chains. However, the current problem is that much of the previous production capacity was prepared for the global market. With the severe lack of domestic consumption capacity among the Chinese populace and the malformed industrial structure, the so-called complete industrial chains cannot save China's current economy.

CCP's Passive Response and Internal Struggles

From the current situation, the CCP's response to Trump 2.0's various policies appears very passive. They lack any proactive initiatives and merely shout empty slogans.

Yuan Hongbing says this indicates that, under Xi Jinping's dictatorial rule, the CCP's foreign affairs department has collectively fallen into a "brain-dead" state, unable to react to the storm of Trump.

This also reflects the sluggishness and stagnation of the political will of the entire CCP tyranny.

Under these circumstances, the CCP's core leadership cannot formulate specific and effective national and diplomatic strategies to counter Trump 2.0.

Instead, they rely on retired officials like Huang Qifan to give so-called reports and speeches to stabilize the domestic situation in China, continuing to numb and deceive the public.

Although the CCP has prepared for the worst — potentially launching a war in the Taiwan Strait as a desperate last stand — it lacks specific diplomatic direction.

For instance, how will it respond to changes in Europe? How will it prevent the US and Russia from restoring relations? Will it try to sabotage Trump's efforts for a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire? How will it prevent Iran from being completely defeated by a joint US-Israel effort?

In all these specific issues, Xi Jinping has shown his incompetence. They have inevitably led to major failures in his national strategy. This is also a significant political crisis currently facing the CCP.

*Zhao Leji, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, reads out an activity report at a meeting of the National People's Congress. On March 8. (©Kyodo)*

Unexplained Absences at the 'Two Sessions'

During the recent annual CCP "Two Sessions," many abnormal phenomena emerged. The most striking was the absence of Zhao Leji from several days of meetings and the closing ceremony on March 11. He is the third-ranking figure in the CCP and Chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee.,

His deputy, Li Hongzhong, announced that Zhao was on leave due to a respiratory illness. However, on March 12, Zhao Leji made a high-profile appearance to meet with journalists covering the Two Sessions. At that time he showed no signs of having been seriously ill the previous day. Nor did he explain why he was unable to attend such a major event as the March 11 closing ceremony.

If it was not due to health reasons, there are only two possibilities for his absence. Either he proactively skipped the event as a form of protest against Xi Jinping, or Xi Jinping did not allow him to attend.

Regardless of which scenario it is, this indicates that internal struggles within the CCP have reached the highest levels and are approaching a "life-and-death" moment.

Alleged Arrest of Senior Military Official Sparks Speculation

Two days after the conclusion of the Two Sessions, on March 13, former Chinese journalist Zhao Lanjian dropped even more shocking news.

He claimed that General He Weidong, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, was directly taken away. That is, arrested ー after attending the Two Sessions on March 11.

Zhao further alleged that He Weidong's residences in Shanghai and Beijing were raided.

This information has been widely reported but not yet been verified. Meanwhile, Yin Ke, a former assistant to the president of the Hangzhou branch of Ping An Bank who now resides in Australia, has come forward to refute it. However, the mere emergence of such news is no small matter.

Given that Zhao Lanjian's previous exposés about the CCP military have been relatively accurate, we can patiently observe for a few more days to see if any official statements confirm or debunk this claim.

He Weidong has long been a key member of Xi Jinping's inner military circle and previously served as the commander of the Eastern Theater Command, directly overseeing Taiwan Strait affairs. He was said to have gone to great lengths to win Xi Jinping's favor and trust, even purchasing a specific breed of German dog that Xi likes most and studying its expression of absolute loyalty in the dog's eyes to capture Xi's attention.

If the news of He Weidong's arrest turns out to be true, it would deal a significant blow to Xi Jinping's ambitions regarding Taiwan. But it might also jeopardize Xi Jinping's own safety. He Weidong was the only member widely regarded as Xi Jinping's loyalist in the Central Military Commission after another member, Miao Hua, was arrested several months ago.

Author: Jennifer Zeng