Forget battleships and microchips

China should prepare itself for a financial war.

• That’s according to top Party theorist Qu Qingshan – president of the Party Central Committee’s Institute of Party History and Literature – in a Wednesday op-ed in the Central Party School’s mouthpiece, Study Times.

Qu's not kidding around. For him:

• “In today’s world, the intensity and impact of financial wars are even greater than armed conflicts and tech wars.”

The problem, according to Qu, is that China isn't up to the task:

• "China has become a major financial country, but it is not yet a powerful one."

For Qu, China's future is at stake:

• “Only by accelerating the construction of our financial power and continuously improving our country's competitiveness and voice in international finance can we seize the initiative in the game of great powers."

ICYMI: The financial system is all the rage in policy circles after Xi Jinping focused his annual "State of the Union" address on the topic earlier this month.

Get smart: Western financial sanctions on Russia have left Beijing feeling vulnerable.

• With the whips now a-cracking, officials will double down on key initiatives – like promoting RMB internationalization and building a non-Western-centered regional and global financial infrastructure – in the coming year.