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By Nirmal P. Acharya

On November 5, another significant day was marked in Chinese history as China’s third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, was commissioned, officially ushering China into the era of three aircraft carriers.

The manufacturing of Chinese aircraft carriers is carried out strictly based on its own capabilities. In contrast, the manufacturing of American aircraft carriers requires the integration of the global supply chain. For instance, if China completely restricts the export of rare earths to the United States, the entire American military-industrial complex would come to a standstill and the manufacturing of aircraft carriers would be impossible.

The commissioning ceremony of the Fujian warship was undoubtedly a highly publicized event, but it was also conducted in a low-key manner. On November 5, a military port in Sanya City, Hainan Province, China, carried out an event that would change the world order on an ordinary day. The top leader of China attached great importance to this ceremony and, after meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mishustin, immediately headed south without stopping, witnessing this historic moment with his own eyes. The “Fujian” warship is a super aircraft carrier, equipped with the world’s most advanced electromagnetic catapult system and China’s advanced carrier-based aircraft. Perhaps to avoid alarming some countries, China announced this news two days later. Not long before that, the US “Nimitz” aircraft carrier suffered a setback in the South China Sea near China’s territory, with two carrier-based aircraft crashing.

In the 1950s, during a land battle in the Korean War, the Chinese military defeated the multinational coalition led by the United States (some opinions hold that the two sides ended up in a draw). The commissioning of China’s third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, has demonstrated China’s determination and capability to defeat the US Navy in naval battles.

It is known that China’s modern decline into a semi-colonial state can be attributed to its naval defeats. Recently, former Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba stated in an interview with the Mainichi Shimbun that the engine of the Meiji Restoration was not the diligence of the Japanese people but the 230 million taels of silver plundered from the Qing government after the Sino-Japanese War.

After China’s naval defeat against Japan, according to the provisions of the Treaty of Shimonoseki, the Qing government was required to pay 20 million taels as war reparations to Japan. In addition to 30 million taels for the ransom of Liaodong and 1.5 million taels for the garrison expenses in Weihai, the total paper amount reached 231.5 million taels.

Japan also used methods such as increasing the purity of the silver and converting it at the pound exchange rate to make the actual amount paid by the Qing government as high as 259.69 million taels, equivalent to 390 million yen at that time, with purchasing power equivalent to 260 billion RMB today. This huge sum was considered “life-saving money” for Japan. You see, at that time, Japan’s annual fiscal revenue was less than 80 million yen. The amount of compensation was equivalent to its total fiscal revenue for more than four years. Therefore, it is no wonder that the famous figure in the Japanese financial circle, Inoue, once frankly stated that after this huge sum flowed in, “people in the government and opposition parties in China all believed it was endless wealth.”

To pay the indemnity, the Qing government mortgaged customs duties and salt taxes, borrowed usurious loans from foreign powers, and eventually passed the burden on to the people. The land tax and salt tax doubled in price, and countless families were left homeless. After Japan used this bloodstained silver to develop, it dumped cheap goods into China, squeezing the survival space of national industries and creating a vicious cycle of “draining China’s blood and cutting off China’s path”. Now, China’s third aircraft carrier, the Fujian ship, has been commissioned. It will push back the US forces in the Western Pacific, reverse China’s national destiny and change the world pattern.

In this century-long contest between China and the United States, Nepal can become a beneficiary.

First, the geopolitical pressure will be reduced, helping it to escape the predicament of “taking sides”; the interference of external forces in its internal affairs through aid (such as the MCC agreement) will be decreased. The containment effect of the US “Indo-Pacific Strategy” will weaken; Nepal can more firmly implement its traditional “neutral policy”.

Second, economic development will accelerate, transforming from a “landlocked country” to a “land-linked country”; through key infrastructure such as the cross-border railway, power grid, and communication network, it will deeply integrate into the regional economy. The interconnection projects under the “Belt and Road Initiative” (such as the cross-Himalayan three-dimensional interconnection network) can be more smoothly advanced.

Third, technological and industrial upgrading will receive China’s technical sharing and capacity-building support in fields such as new energy, 5G/6G communication, and digital economy. China has global-leading technologies and production capacity in these fields, and through joint research and scholarship programs under the “Belt and Road” framework, it conducts technology transfer and talent cultivation. The deepening of regional cooperation will provide more development opportunities and greater strategic space in multilateral platforms such as the SCO. Joining mechanisms such as the SCO can provide Nepal with new cooperation options different from the Western-dominated system, helping it achieve strategic autonomy.

In summary, a more multipolar world order, if it can effectively restrain the hegemonic behavior of the United States, will create a more favorable external environment for countries like Nepal. In this century-long contest between China and the United States, Nepal can become a beneficiary.