China has existed for thousands of years. But since 1949, its name has not been China. The country is the People’s Republic of China (PRC). That is a very important distinction.

Post-World War II, China experienced a brutal and bloody civil war with more than seven million dead, and what emerged in victory in 1949 was the infant PRC. That civil war, won by Mao Zedong’s forces, determined that communism would be the political system in China. Yet China under Chiang Kai-Shek and through WWII was an ally to the West. In 1949, China was weak, and its new government was in its infancy. It had suffered greatly in WWII at the hands of Japan. Despite this weakness and the chaos of years of war, Mao and other Chinese leaders had a vision for China unknown to the West.

The Chinese historically refer to themselves as the Middle Kingdom. With a culture that goes back thousands of years, a culture that dominated Asia, a culture with a rich history of invention and innovation, the Han Chinese see themselves in both historical terms and culturally as superior to all others. Mao embraced this ideology of Chinese superiority and, combined with communism and brutal methods, thus began China’s modern rise to greatness.

Of course, there were serious challenges along the way, from the Korean War to the Vietnam War and horrific internal strife through the Cultural Revolution, during which an estimated 45 million died. A phenomenon like the Cultural Revolution is unimaginable to us in the West. But to communists, loss of life on this scale didn’t faze them. It was viewed as necessary by Mao to put them on the true path to restored greatness. Mao and subsequent leaders had a vision of the revival of the Middle Kingdom with China dominating not only Asia but the world. Under the ambitious leadership of Mao and his successors, they inexorably and implacably moved toward their vision of once again being the Middle Kingdom, the paragon of greatness that the rest of the world would bow to.

Fast-forward to 2024, and what is the situation? The PRC is the world’s second-most-powerful nation and rivals the U.S. for world leadership.

The Chinese Communist Party has absolute control. Mao’s vision of world domination by the year 2049, the 100th anniversary of his party’s civil war victory, is well on its way. This goal was materially aided by the naiveté of Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger. They believed that opening the West to China in matters of trade, investment, cultural interchange, and foreign aid would cause the Chinese to moderate and adopt Western values and ideals.

Thus, for decades, U.S. policy toward China has been wishful thinking. Our goal to help it rise has been a roaring success. Its influence around the world is stunning. The goal of moderating its form of government failed spectacularly. The Chinese communists accepted decades of friendship from the U.S. and the West without changing their methods, beliefs, or goals. They remain, in their own eyes, the Middle Kingdom, the rightful ruler of the world. In a sense, one must admire their determination, hard work, and grit. Despite tremendous obstacles and the burden of a huge and poor population, they have largely succeeded in achieving Mao’s goals.

Future articles will describe the ways the PRC has positioned itself for world domination. It is well on its way to becoming the world’s superpower by 2049 or earlier. Whether it’s economic or military power, scientific research, technology, influence on the world stage, control of international institutions, or control of markets, the PRC is in a position of strength on all the elements of national power.

The PRC’s current leader, President Xi Jinping, is an absolute ruler. Despite the PRC modernizing extraordinarily in every segment and every technology, it remains communist to its very core and a brutal dictatorship to its people. Xi rules with an iron hand and in recent years has strengthened his grip on the nation. With his consolidation of power, Xi and the CCP have dropped the mask and shown the true nature of communism through their illegal seizure and subjugation of Hong Kong in violation of a treaty with the UK. The West looked on in fear and horror as the CCP swallowed Hong Kong. The West, including the U.S., sat on our collective hands and let the CCP enslave millions of Hong Kong residents and install complete communist control. Anyone who resisted was either arrested and imprisoned or disappeared. Their actions toward Hong Kong should be a warning to the U.S. and the rest of the free world. The PRC intends to rule the world, and it is only a matter of time until they come for us.

On December 6, 1941, America was at peace, and citizens were blissfully unaware of what was to happen the next day. The same was the case on September 10, 2001. A day is coming soon when you will feel just like it’s December 7 or September 11. It will be surprise, hurt, anger, frustration, fear, and the desire for revenge. Normal human feelings.

But it will be too late.

The U.S. will be at war with the PRC, and the outcome is unknown. We have allowed our military and other institutions to atrophy. When the PRC attacks us, it will be too late to ask how we will defeat it. Your future and the future of your family rests on what you do now. Americans must urge our politicians to take this threat seriously and put America on a path to be able to defend ourselves from the PRC. Time is running out.