Onondaga Central
On March 8, 1983, President Ronald Reagan declared the Soviet Union an “evil empire” in a speech to the National Association of Evangelicals. Now, nearly 40 years later, there is a new “evil empire,” a new existential threat to the United States: China. China’s mistreatment of the United States ranges from economic espionage to currency manipulation, to aiding North Korea. Not to mention, the people of China face a brutal, oppressive government and an extreme lack of religious freedom. Simply stated, China has become unhinged and is currently going unchecked by the rest of the world. This must stop immediately.
How We Got Here In 1972, President Richard Nixon visited the Communist People’s Republic of China after decades of isolation from the U.S. He became the first sitting U.S. President to visit China. While in China, Nixon met with their murderous dictator, Mao Zedong. Additionally, on this visit, Nixon normalized relations with China and re-established diplomatic ties , continuing his failed policy of detente, regarding Communism. Fast forward to 2000 President Bill Clinton allowed China to join the World Trade Organization (WTO). Subsequently, China gamed the system to favor themselves. Since China joined the World Trade Organization the U.S. trade deficit has drastically increased from just $84 billion in 2001 to a jaw-dropping $419.527 billion trade deficit with China in 2018, larger than our trade deficit with any other country (St. Louis Federal Reserve). Moreover, as a result of China joining the WTO the U.S. directly lost 2.4 million manufacturing jobs and overall 6 million manufacturing jobs from 1999-2010. Similarly, over 60,000 factories closed in the aftermath of China joining the WTO and the median U.S. income fell by $1,400 compared to what it would have been if China never joined the WTO (RP News). How China is Robbing the U.S. China is a chronic currency manipulator. In fact, by manipulating their currency, China has fleeced America and our workers. Currency manipulation is when a country sells it own currency and purchases another country’s currency, usually the U.S. dollar, in order to weaken the value of that country's currency, making it cheaper to export their own products and more expensive to import a foreign country’s. In August, China manipulated its currency down to more than 7 yuan for every American dollar, the weakest since 2008. This is a clear example of currency manipulation. Fortunately, the United States Department of Treasury designated China a currency manipulator which results in one year of either bi-lateral negotiations between the two countries or negotiations through the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Furthermore, China is stealing intellectual property from American companies. China steals an estimated $360 annually in intellectual property just through hacking alone. In total, the cost of China’s intellectual property theft is upwards of $600 billion per year, further diminishing the abysmal $120.3 billion of American exports to China. The FBI surveyed 165 private companies and half reported being victims of economic espionage and theft of trade secrets (Census Bureau). Unsurprisingly, China is the culprit in 95% of those cases. Even as recently as 2015 industrial spying and trade sabotage perpetrated by China is up 53%. Making this even more of a serious threat is the fact that one in three American jobs rely on intellectual property. In addition, China has an extensive counterfeit industry such as selling knock off watches, purses and electronics. This costs American companies another $20 billion (CNN). In like manner, China abuses American companies and workers through what's known as dumping. Dumping is when a country illegally subsidizes a company to keep the price of a product artificially low and then exports this product to other countries in order to bankrupt their foreign competition. A prime example of this is China exporting engineered quartz to the U.S. that was discounted/subsidized to the tune of $1.2 billion in 2017 (Fox News). On top of that, China instituted a 40% tariff on any foreign quartz. All of these actions were an attempt to drive Cambria, the largest quartz producer in the U.S., out of business. As a result, Cambria and their CEO Marty Davis filed a complaint with the Department of Commerce. Fortunately, in 2018 the Trump administration increased tariffs by fivefold on Chinese quartz and after further investigations discovered even more violations and increased tariffs again (Star Tribune). Further instances of China’s illegal dumping in 2019 include: mattresses and stainless steel beer kegs, resulting in tariffs on these products. In recent years steel and tires have been other American industries China targeted with illegal dumping. Under the Trump administration, 168 new anti-dumping investigations have been initiated more than twice the number of any other administration over the same period of time (CNBC). As well as economic espionage, China continually hacks other countries and governments. In March of 2014, China hacked the U.S. government. China hacked the United States Office of Personnel Management. China stole information the of at least 21.5 million records from former and current government workers and members of the military (ABC News). Equally important, China constructing islands in the South China Sea. This poses a significant threat to the entire free world. China has added 3,200 acres of land by creating and expanding these islands. By controlling this trade route in the South China Sea, China would control $5 trillion worth of global trade. Subsequently, China is in the process of a military build-up on these islands. China’s build-up encompasses the construction of 10,000 foot barracks, airstrips, radar stations and other vital military infrastructure (Reuters). On a further note, China is continuing to prop up North Korea’s economy. Of North Korea’s international trade China is responsible for 90%. Without China’s continued support North Korea would collapse and be forced to give up their nuclear weapons. Certain Chinese companies and individuals also have violated sanctions on North Korea. As a matter of fact, China even increased trade with North Korea by 14.3% in the first half of 2019 (South China Morning Post). In Hong Kong, there have been a string of protests originally over an extradition bill in Hong Kong that would send criminals in Hong Kong to trial China instead of having their trial in Hong Kong. Later, these protests evolved into a fight for freedom for Hong Kong and more independence instead of their current system where they are semi-independent or a “quasi nation” status where they some autonomy but are controlled by China. Although the protests in Hong Kong were peaceful, China responded by initiating a military build-up on their border with Hong Kong. (BBC News). As a matter of fact, China is currently funding at least 100 Confucius Institutes at American colleges and universities. The objective of these institutes is to recruit students as spies to steal American intellectual property for China. In Hollywood, movie directors and films are appeasing to China’s censorship so that their movies can be viewed in China. A notable example of this is, Top Gun 2 which removed the Taiwanese flag from Tom Cruise’s jacket (Fox News). The NBA is another major American company that bows down to China. Houston’s general manager Daryl Morey tweeted “Stand for freedom. Stand with Hong Kong.” This is resulted in Morey having to delete his tweet and apologize along with both the NBA and the Houston Rockets issuing apologies. Likewise, fans displaying “Free Hong Kong” signs were escorted out of an NBA game. Despite these capitulations, official Chinese firms have suspended business with the NBA (Fox News). Finally, China is conducting a war on religion and forcing people to conform to their Secular Communism. For example, Bibles in China are illegal, priests/pastors are arrested and sentenced to jail. Churches, mosques and temples are bulldozed by the government. According to the Congressional Executive Committee on China, 700 people are in jail for religious offenses including 145 Buddhist monks and Catholic Priests. Even further persecution occurring is that China is detaining at least 1 million, but as high as 3 million members of the Muslim minority, Uighur, in concentration camps to “re-educate” them, indoctrinate them in Communism and force them to change their beliefs. The Chinese government is destroying Uighur burial sites and cemeteries in an attempt to erase their culture. The Trump administration has sanctioned and restricted visa for 28 individuals and companies involved with the persecution of the Uighurs (Reuters). What Must Be Done Over the course of 2018 and 2019 President Trump has imposed a series of tariffs on Chinese products totaling at $550 billion (CNBC). As a result, China’s factory output reached the lowest it has been in 17 years and the worst economic growth in 27 years (NPR). According, to a Hong Kong newspaper, the South China Morning Post, China has lost 1.8 million-1.9 million jobs due to the trade war. Further action must be taken. The United States should implement a reciprocal trade policy. China forces U.S. companies in order to sell products in their country to turn over intellectual property. The United States should require the same. The U.S. should not enforce Chinese patents. Any tariff that China has on American products we should have in place on their products in return. America could impose quotas which would limit the number of Chinese imports. America and our allies could unite with sanctions against China and reward allies who also are fair trading partners with a favored trading status. President Trump should create a commission of experts and businesses to investigate abuses, issue a report/recommendations. The United States should sanction Chinese government sponsored companies such as Huawei, other major companies like ZTE and major stated-owned banks- Bank of China. Restricting the ability of Chinese companies to merge or purchase U.S. companies is another proposal. The assets of Chinese companies that abuse America should be frozen. The Trump administration should delist Chinese companies from U.S. stock exchanges to prevent further investment. Entities and individuals in China that partake in the persecution of religion and the Uighur Muslims should be sanctioned, along with those who are involved in China building islands in the South China Sea. As a way to gain leverage in a negotiation, the United States should recognize Hong Kong, Taiwan and Tibet and sovereign states instead of China. In summation, the U.S. has been abused, it’s time to fight back. Sources: “The FRED® Blog.” FRED Blog, https://fredblog.stlouisfed.org/2016/05/chinas-trade-surplus-since-2000/. wires, RP news. “Massive U.S. Job Loss to China Shown by State, Congressional District.” Reliable Plant, Noria Corporation, 23 Mar. 2010, https://www.reliableplant.com/Read/23597/US-job-loss-China. Branch, Foreign Trade Data Dissemination. “Foreign Trade: Data.” U.S. Trade with China, 21 Apr. 2009, https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c5700.html. Tenney, Claudia. “It's Time to Stop Chinese Theft.” CNN, Cable News Network, 12 Dec. 2016, https://www.cnn.com/2016/12/11/opinions/trump-crackdown-china-tenney/index.html. Fox News. “Cambria CEO Says Trump Is '100 Percent Right' on Trade Issues.” Fox News, FOX News Network, 14 May 2019, https://www.foxnews.com/transcript/cambria-ceo-says-trump-is-100-percent-right-on-trade-issues.
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