K. Tristan Tang thinks Zhang simply didn’t want to get ready to invade Taiwan so quickly, and that Xi removed Zhang for resisting his orders. Anyway, this round of purges should emphasize that China doesn’t really fit the stereotypes that many Westerners apply to it. And in fact, U.S. policy to balance China has been based on encirclement, much to Chinese leaders’ annoyance. But part of the idea that “China thinks long-term” probably just comes from the fact that it’s so old. It simply means that this does not look like a country that is following a 1000-year plan, or even a hundred-year plan.