Children are taught at a young age that even though they might fear monsters under their beds, no such beasts will ever be found there. Perhaps parents need to reassure their kids of this fact more than once, but eventually, those young people mature sufficiently and stop fearing non-existent threats.
Unfortunately, too many in the US government, be they elected or appointed officials, still have a monster-under-the-bed psychosis when it comes to China. Whether talking about China’s economic growth, military aspirations, diplomatic initiatives, international trade practices, political structure or something else, you can hear their cry of fear, and of course, they tell only half the story to affirm their anti-China stand.
The most recent example centres around “China Shock 2.0,” a term certain nations are using to describe China’s rapid expansion of its export of some of the most cutting-edge products—such as solar equipment and electric vehicles—fearing its impact on their own manufacturing employment because of their own problems at home.
In early June, the US Congress held a hearing on this presumed problem. Livia Shmavonian, director of the Made in America Office, decried that after the US most especially felt the brunt of China 1.0, developing nations are now “experiencing the same”. She also claimed an “endless flow” of goods made in China – and subsidised by the Chinese government – were being sent to ASEAN nations with the goal of undermining the growth prospects of those countries.
At the same hearing, Leland Miller, CEO of the China Beige Book, an agency advising investors on the China market, warned that the “United States today confronts the reality that the health of its economy and the resilience of its defence industrial base rely on critical supply chains that flow through China and are exposed to Chinese Communist Party leverage.” If that were not enough, Nora Todd, a former special assistant to former US president Joe Biden, insisted China had employed “extensive non-market policies and practices, which undermine fair competition and create dependencies that can be weaponised.”
The monster-under-the-bed words are there for all to see and hear: China crippled US manufacturing; China floods markets; China cheats; the Communist Party of China tips the scales in its favour. If this message were contained in a comic book, the cover would include a character paralysed by fear as an ogre inches closer.
Although the plot is not meant for a comic book, there is an unhealthy dose of anxiety in this story. Often aided by the mainstream media, this narrative rarely faces resistance in the US.
The current US administration is doing its best to cripple China: Setting tariffs at levels that defy common sense, demanding that the European Union not expand trade with China, and continuing to support strategic efforts to curtail China’s influence in the Asia-Pacific. The list goes on. President Donald Trump and his predecessor have used the past seven years to write a script that casts the US as the necessary protector of itself and its allies against a reckless bully determined to destroy the world order.
Professor Gerald Horne of the University of Houston articulated why this anti-China psychosis is consistently used by elected and appointed government officials. China is a real threat to “US imperialism”, Horne said. He added that US war planners in Washington carried out at least 19 table-top exercises imagining a war between the US and China, and in each case, China was the victor. Washington seems to realise that its days of global hegemony might be coming to an end. But if it can sustain a narrative that China would not be benevolent, then perhaps it could maintain its dominance.
However, multiple nations throughout the Global South, including Latin America and the Middle East, would quickly remind international audiences that for the better part of five decades, Washington demonstrated little benevolence toward them. The US overthrew political leaders that it did not approve of and placed unnecessary restrictions on plans to boost the economic power of many nations, big and small. With such a record, it is understandable why leaders throughout the developing world insist that they want no part of the Cold War mentality emanating from the US. Instead, they want fair, free and open trade that will allow for their citizens and future generations to enjoy a better life.
[Credit: CGTN]
