NEWS//China’s new Long March

China’s President XI is casting the trade war between the United States and China as a real war.

The original Long March

He has used references to the Communist’s “Long March” that eventually led it to victory in 1949 over the Nationalist army lead by Chiang Kai-shek to describe this war. The Long March reference predicts a victory, but it also predicts difficult times for the Chinese people while the war is being fought.

The Long March was a grueling 4,000-mile, one-year journey undertaken by Communist Party forces in 1934 as they fled the Nationalist army. Fifteen years later, battling through much untold hardship, they took control of Mainland China.  

The new Long March

Xi made the remarks while leaving the Long March memorial garden in Jiangxi Province. The site marks the starting point of the march. "We came to the starting point of the Long March to experience the Red Army’s departure at that time," Xi said. "It’s a new Long March now, and we must start all over again."

In China, to remember the Long March is similar to calling Americans to the events at Pearl Harbor in 1941. President Xi is hoping to stir the patriotism of his nation as it faces difficult economic times for the foreseeable future. Already the Chinese are dealing with a slowdown in their economy and with rising prices for basic food items.

 Video interview

An interview between Lou Dobbs and Hudson Institute’s Dr. Michael Pillsbury on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s claim that China is embarking on a “new Long March.”

Sources: NewYork Times, Bloomberg, YouTube