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China has been rapidly stockpiling commodities and resources, leading the global community to believe that it might be preparing for a battle with Taiwan.
Knewz.com has learned that April 2024 was the 18th consecutive month that saw the People's Bank of China increase its gold demands.
Beijing has been firm on its policy of not recognizing Taiwan's independence at all, even going so far as to warn the United States against showing support for the democratic island state.
The past few months have also seen increasing Chinese military activity in the South China Sea, with several instances of Filipino vessels facing hostility from the Chinese navy. These factors, combined with China's rapidly accumulating commodities, have sparked concerns about the potential for an all-out conflict over Taiwan.
Michael Studeman, the former head of the Office of Naval Intelligence, recently wrote in War on The Rocks that Chinese President Xi Jinping's most critical choices "reflect a march to war."
"Leadership changes at the 20th Party Congress in late 2022, for example, turned the Politburo into a body more akin to a war cabinet. Fifteen of its 24 members now have Taiwan-related experience," Studeman pointed out.
Regarding the Chinese accumulation of resources, the former naval intelligence head said, "[President Jinping] seems to have studied the sanctions playbook the West used against Russia over Ukraine and subsequently initiated long-lead protective measures to batten down the hatches of China’s economy to resist similar pressure."
"In contrast to the milquetoast pushback from the other leading powers after China put Hong Kong under its boot, Xi likely knows attempting to assimilate Taiwan would lead to much fiercer global resistance and harsher whole-of-society repercussions that would likely last years. And he intends to ready China to endure them," he further said.
"In addition to the extraordinary measures Xi has already undertaken to protect Chinese supply chains, cyber security, and critical infrastructure, China may be quietly reducing exposure of its foreign exchange reserves," Studeman added.
China has been notably stocking up on gold and oil over the last year. The nation is already the world's largest consumer of both commodities, with China's official gold holdings now standing at 2,264 tons, making up 4.9 % of its total foreign exchange reserves. According to FXStreet, this is the highest percentage on record.
"The People's Bank of China added another 2 tons of gold to its official reserves in April. It was the 18th straight month of gold buying by the Chinese central bank," the outlet wrote.
On the other hand, Newsweek reported that China purchased 11.3 million barrels of oil per day in 2023 while noting that "this 10 percent increase came amid increased demand for fuel after the end of China's strict pandemic-era restrictions."
It is worth noting that the Chinese embassy in the U.S. explained that China's moves regarding the accumulation of resources might not be related to Jinping's preparation for a potential war.
"Gold reserves have always been an important part of China's diversified international reserves... From a long-term and strategic perspective, China dynamically adjusts the allocation of its international reserve portfolio as needed to ensure the safety, liquidity, preservation, and appreciation of international reserves," Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu told Newsweek.
However, U.S. military officials have said that Jinping has reportedly set a deadline for potentially making a major play for Taiwan. U.S. Indo-Pacific Command chief Admiral John Aquilino told reporters in April during a visit to Japan that "China is working toward being able to take Taiwan by 2027," per a previous report from Newsweek.
Studeman also mentioned the 2027 military deadlines reportedly issued by Jinping in his article in War on The Rocks as he wrote, "China’s hyper-militarization represents the greatest build-up of arms since the end of the Cold War."
"In 2020, Xi accelerated significant military milestones from 2035 to 2027 because he wanted China’s military to modernize faster and give him Taiwan options earlier," he added.