For all the warnings about an increasingly capable Chinese military, this may very well be an awkward moment for Beijing to have that military tested. General Secretary Xi Jinping has hollowed out much of the People’s Liberation Army’s senior command through purges and is now trying to rebuild it while preserving the appearance of uninterrupted strength. Several factors have allowed Xi to purge and rebuild on this scale, among them a temporary easing of external pressure. The United States unintentionally provided that comfort.One year ago, on the stage of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saidThe post Strategic Stability and the Rebuilding of Xi’s Military appeared first on War on the Rocks.