In the 1950s, the Cold War was raging. Nikita Khrushchev was the leader of the Communist Soviet Union. It seemed that a nuclear confrontation was imminent. Mr. Khrushchev met with Western ambassadors at the Polish Embassy. His angry speech was directed at the United States and our allies. Taking off his shoe, he knocked it on the table and said, “About capitalist states, it doesn’t depend on you whether we exist or not. If you don’t like us, don’t accept our invitations and invite us to come see you. Like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury you!” The speech prompted envoys from twelve NATO countries and Israel to leave the room.
Only a few years ago, the world seemed a more peaceful place and American power and stability was a given, even after 9/11. But now the Cold War has been replaced by a slow conflict that may be even more dangerous than the threat we lived under in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Mutually Assured Destruction has at least kept the peace. For years, there were only two nuclear powers: the United States and the Soviet Union. Today, the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the threat of terrorism, and the actions of rogue nations like Iran and North Korea have dramatically changed the threat environment. While today Russia, North Korea and Iran are certainly our adversaries, most geopolitical experts believe that the main threat to the United States is the People’s Republic of China (PRC). It is a multi-faceted threat that involves military, trade and economy, human rights and international law. Sometimes it seems like China is pounding a shoe on the table and proclaiming not “We’ll bury you”, but rather “We’ll buy you”.
We are so dependent on China, even if it misbehaves (which it does), we have very limited effective responses. At least we have few options that we are willing to take. How can you take a stand against a nation-state that is the source of most of your imports and bears a substantial portion of your national debt? How can you practically sanction a country for violating human rights or violating another nation’s sovereignty when you depend on them for the drugs, medical supplies, and the vast majority of practical necessities that Americans use each day ?
China thinks it can lecture us about human rights even as it persecutes and imprisons millions simply because of their religious beliefs or ethnicity. They can point out the weaknesses of our democratic republic as they violate the rights of their own people with an all-powerful communist regime that allows no dissent. They can boast of their honesty and integrity as they steal billions in intellectual property and undermine American businesses. In fact: Chinese Communists think they can control US foreign policy, dictate the rules of commerce and trade, send thousands of students to secretly influence US universities, buy several US companies and buy goods real estate in America. And we allow that to happen.
The list of China’s geopolitical transgressions is long. Here are just a few of the many actions that should concern every American. Some of them look pretty unbelievable, but they are very real.
America shouldn’t be for sale. But China is buying goods, companies and influence. What they can’t buy, they steal. This is the most serious threat we face. It has both short and long term consequences. This impacts national security and the lives of everyday American citizens. Chinese President Xi and the Communist Party have been clear: they intend to replace the United States as the world’s sole superpower and become the world’s largest economy. Their goal is to replace the United States on the world stage. This is a formidable, multi-faceted threat to the United States. We must insist that our president and our political leaders recognize the threat, take it seriously, and start taking action to counter it.
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