Dr. Wordman
Abstract
“China Threat” has been touted long and often by politicians that seems to make it a true gospel. Have you ever wondered whether or not 'China Threat' is really true? What may be the real China threat? This article attempts to answer these questions and clarify why politicians especially during presidential elections like to focus on foreign threats rather than on solutions to our domestic problems.
________________________________________________________________________________________
There is a real “China Threat”, however, which can be easily observed and understood by a few examples. Again, this threat is self-inflicted in my opinion. The examples are clearly observable in the U.S.-China trade war. The U.S. initiated the trade war starting from applying tariffs on hundreds to thousands of Chinese imports. The tariffs were added on the consumer prices hurting mostly the lower income American citizens. That hurt was translated to threat then even to hate by politicians. But wiping China out of the world trading system is not a solution but adding more hurt and threat to Americans. In retaliation, China countered with tariffs on American goods, that hurt American exporters and China importers both. Needless to say, it is not a good solution. Then the U.S. extended the trade war to technology sanctions and more tariffs. That again is hurting both nations’ tech industries and economies, slowing down China’s rise in technology industry perhaps but bleeds the U.S. hi-tech industries as well. (Hi-tech products need a large market to thrive) This hurt is also translated to threat then hate by politicians even leading to war plots involving alliances. This is exemplified by policy statements made by Pompeo and hostile rhetoric by Rubio and Ted Cruz the like. China either did not like to escalate the sanction war or realize that it will hurt both and not helping anyone. She chose to sanction the individuals who promoted the hurt-threat to US-China relations while in-power but now out of power, an interesting move we shall understand later.
China announced a sanction list of 28 U.S. individuals and their immediate families to be prohibited in doing businesses in China, Hong Kong and Macau. I must say, this action is a real “China Threat” to the individuals (it really hurts financially at least) but not the U.S. industries. Pompeo is on the top of the China sanction list. China announced this at the juncture when Pompeo is relinquished his official duty as the Secretary of State to take on a private job to plot his political future. This announcement of forbidding him and his wife to do business in China has little to do with ordinary American citizens or the U.S. government but it hurts Pompeo badly (finally picking up a $80,000 job at Hudson Institute versus being denied $10,000,000 CEO job hurts and hurts badly). Pompeo would surely feel what a real China threat is like now, no corporation would write off China market to support Pompeo’s political ambition built on “China Threat”. Another example is former U.S. U.N. Ambassador, Kelly Craft who is also on the sanction list for her anti-China deeds, such as dishonoring a one-China principle the U.S and 100+ more nations pledged. Craft’s husband, Joseph Craft III, CEO of Alliances Resources Partners, allegedly has very significant businesses in China which would be affected by this sanction. According to an unverified source on the Internet the China sanctions may have a collective impact of $3 billion dollars of personal interests to the 28 individuals and their close families.
The Trump Administration played every card to provoke China including lies and twisting facts. For example, Pelosi is calling Hong Kong’s riots (crashing her legislators’ building) as a beautiful scenery of democracy but calling our protestors (storming into our Capitol building) as mobs and insurrectionists. (An obvious double standard) The U.S. is selling offensive weapons to Taiwan clearly encouraging Taiwan’s independence movement (no one in the right mind would think that it is in the interest of our national security or world peace). Pompeo’s criticizing China’s domestic policies dealing with her Muslim religious extremists’ terrorism using extremely hurtful terms like “concentration camps” and “genocide”. The purpose of providing compulsive 15 year free education to Muslim children so they would not be forced into extremists’ religious studies is not a ‘concentration camp’ idea nor there is ever a genocide happening to the 12% Uighur in Xinjiang. (In fact, Han people (80%) often complained that the Uighurs got more benefits from the government than they did.) Minority issues exist in our country as well, we would not accept any foreign criticism or do anything in response, but yet we expect Chinese people to accept our accusation and protest against their government. What for? If not an interference.
China sanction came after the U.S. sanction against some Chinese (and Hong Kong) officials forbidding their travel to the U.S. might seem to be just a symbolic retaliation, but in reality it hurts these individuals on their pocket books perhaps also their political careers. Although Pompeo may claim the China sanction is his badge of honor (Anti-China or Anti-Communism), but realistically it hurts his pocket book. One wonders whether he will be able to write a million dollar book at the Hudson Institute reflecting on why some people Americans call him the worst U.S. Secretary of State in history and some world citizens call him the biggest liar and cheater in politics. China did not put any on-duty U.S. official such as Pelosi on the sanction list is probably out of their adherence to never interfering with any country's domestic affairs. However, China’s sanction list is a real threat never the less. In my opinion, this China sanction may be a real threat, at least, to young politicians currently on-duty or not, who must care about their post-government career in the private sector later in life. Since in the business world people are used to competition. China does present a competition to the world, but any competent business executive would not be afraid of competition and give up the China market. So 'China threat' is never real to U.S. corporations or the U.S. if we don't give up competition. However, China sanctions against individuals are real threats!
RSS Feed