China’s major strategic objective is to preserve the rule of the Communist Party, not protection of the nation as a whole, a senior State Department official said recently.
David Shear, deputy assistant secretary of state for Asia, told a House Armed Services Committee hearing Jan. 13 that while China is pursuing a variety of security goals, “I think the number one goal is the preservation of the Chinese Communist Party.
“I think the Chinese Communist Party is very concerned about prospects for social stability in China,” he said.
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“I think they spend a lot of time and resources trying to ensure that the vast socioeconomic changes they're undergoing do not shake their rule of China.”
Rep. Vic Snyder (D-AR), said he believes China’s rulers do not view the U.S., Taiwan, Japan or other countries as representing their greatest threat, but believe it to be something happening internally.
"I think the Chinese pay a lot of attention to internal security and internal social stability, and that is a number one goal for them,” Shear agreed.