China 2020

On November 11, 2018, I wrote a rather lengthy post about China.  If you are interested, it is available in the archives.  I will try not to be repetitive when writing about China as an issue in the 2020 presidential election.  However, since the end of the Second World War the communist government of Mainland China has created ongoing problems for the United States and the rest of the world.

The communist government of China has engaged in aggressive behavior toward its neighbors.  They annexed Tibet against the will of the Tibetan people.  During the Korean War, China stepped in and prevented the North Korean communists from being defeated.  There have been border disputes with India, the Former Soviet Union, and Vietnam.  Communist China has repeatedly threatened the independence of Taiwan.  They are currently subjugating Hong Cong by threat of force.  In the South China Sea, they have claimed islands that are also claimed by Vietnam, the Philippines, and others, and they are threatening the use of force to support their claims.  “Red” China has claimed control over recognized international waters in the South China Sea, including vital international shipping lanes, to which they are not entitled.  They have constructed military bases on artificial islands to assert their claims.  The South China Sea is a valuable fishery upon which many nations depend.  There are also rich oil fields under its waters.

The Chinese communists have allowed Chinese businesses to violate the patents and intellectual property rights rights of others.  They have required businesses to share technology with their government as a condition of doing business in China.  The technology has been passed along to the Chinese military, resulting in huge increases in their military capabilities.  They have allowed Chinese companies to manufacture “knock off” products that have the appearance of brand name goods but sell for a lower price.  They have allowed the piracy of music, books, video games and movies.  In short, they use every dirty trick in the book to steal and undersell the work of others, particularly Americans.

The Chinese communists have begun to militarize space.  They have increased the range and accuracy of their nuclear weapons, and they are now able to strike the continental United States.

During the 2016 presidential election, President Trump was the candidate who identified China’s unfair trade practices and aggressive behavior as an issue.  Just recently, Red China has finally agreed to the first stage of new trade agreements negotiated by the Trump Administration.  Before that, China agreed to trade negotiations, but then used the old communist tactic of delaying any kind of mutually acceptable resolution.  They seem to think that if they delay long enough, they will outlast our resolve, and a different president will be elected.  (This idea is apparently shared by the North Koreans.)  I am sure that they are delighted with the prospect of dealing with Joe Biden, since he has sold out our national interests in the past.  Throughout his presidency, Donald Trump has ratcheted up the economic pressure to compel China to stop cheating us economically and stop bullying its neighbors.

The following information is from a July 30, 2020 post on the RNC website titled, While Biden Appeases, President Trump Stands Up To China.  The United States has repeatedly imposed tariffs and tariff increases on billions of dollars’ worth of Chinese imports.  The Trump Administration has resisted China’s aggression in the South China Sea and disputed China’s claims to the resources located there.  The United States Navy has conducted exercises in the South China Sea, and we have opposed China’s creation of islands for use as military bases.  The administration has rejected China’s claims to recognized international waters and has refused to accept the Maritime restrictions China has imposed.  President Trump has increased US counterespionage efforts to try to stop Chinese hacking of computer information maintained by the American government and people.  He has blocked Chinese companies like Huawei from selling telecommunications equipment in the United States to limit China’s ability to exploit technology to gather intelligence, and he has exerted pressure on other NATO countries to do the same.  President Trump closed the Chinese embassy in Houston, TX because they were running spying operations from it.  

I am also aware that the Chinese have purchased property in the U.S. for conducting espionage, and they pressure their students attending American universities to report on the research activities there.

According to Voice of the Martyrs (VOM), the Chinese communists have abused the human rights of the Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang, China. In response, The Trump Administration has imposed export restrictions on involved Chinese government agencies and companies.  Visa restrictions have been imposed on the Chinese Communist Party officials responsible for oppressing the religious freedom of the Uighurs.  VOM has also reported extensively on the persecution of Christians in China since President Xi became president and also leader of the Chinese Communist Party.

I could go on and on.  The point is that China is not just an economic competitor.  They made themselves an adversary long before President Trump began to hold them accountable for it.  They are not only our adversary; they mean to become the dominant economic and military power in the world.

We need look no further than the COVID-19 pandemic to see that China’ communist leaders care only for China and not “losing face” before the world.  They lied about the nature and seriousness of the disease to the World Health Organization (WHO) and enlisted the help of the WHO in a coverup.  They prevented persons who might be infected from traveling within China but allowed them to travel outside China, thus creating the pandemic.

According to a website maintained by the World Economic Forum, projections from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) indicated that the cumulative loss to the global economy in 2020 and 2021 from the COVID-19 pandemic will be over $12 trillion dollars.  On 7 September 2020, The Times of Oman reported that as of 2:28 PM (1828 GMT) on that date the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University listed 26,951,838 COVID-19 cases and 880,779 deaths worldwide.  If China had done nothing else, the global damage from the pandemic alone should make them an international pariah.

When we go to the polls in November, we need to ask ourselves who we want to be in charge of our struggle, and it is a struggle, with communist Mainland China?  Do we want someone like President Trump, who will aggressively pursue American interests?  Or do we want someone like Joe Biden, who sold out the economic, safety, and security interests of the American people for money and a cushy job for his son?  Do we want Senators and Congressmen who will take the many challenges posed by China seriously, or do we want Democrats who regard President Trump’s efforts to hold China accountable as “an interesting diversion” to take attention away from his alleged mishandling of the COVID-19 crisis, (Mike Lillis in The Hill, 14 May 2020)?

Joe Biden and the Democrats are part of the problem, not the solution.  When he was part of the Obama Administration, they let China run all over us.  Why should we expect anything different if he wins in November?

Nobody, but nobody, saw the problem until Donald Trump pointed it out by making it part of the discussion in the 2016 presidential election.  It took a hard-headed businessman to turn things around and get them started in the right direction.  By started, I mean started.  President Trump needs another four years to work on China, and to show those who come after him how to do it right.

China is a sovereign nation.  The United States of America does not have the right to tell the Chinese what to do.  Donald Trump understands, however, that if China doesn’t treat us well, we can take our business elsewhere.  We do have a right to choose the kind of people we will do business with.

I have two recommendations.  As I said on 11 November 2018, the U.S. needs to adopt a strategic plan to disengage from China economically and diplomatically, and to implement it incrementally until we are completely disentangled and independent from China economically.  Secondly, we must reelect President Trump and give him a Republican majority in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.