We cannot allow the Washington establishment to capitulate to China’s bullying demands. The Chinese government and the CCP do not respect any agreement. Whether it is the Paris Accord, trade agreements, intellectual property laws, or climate change, they ignore them and taunt us with their deliberate transgressions.
How can the United States allow China such dominance over our economy and integration into our national security apparatus?
On Sunday, November 12, 2023 Retired Adm. Michael Mullen, former Joint Chiefs of Staff, appeared on Fox News and “cautioned” against the “disaster” that could potentially ensue should the U.S. decouple from China, an opinion contesting others branding of diplomatic relations with the U.S. adversary as a threat to national interests.” (READ MORE: The ‘Suicidal Mania’ of American CEOs)
Mullen said clearly that the U.S. should not decouple from China because we need to communicate. His rhetoric was reminiscent of a newsreel of Neville Chamberlain discussing the capitulation of Great Britain to Germany in the Munich Agreement of 1938.
Mullen’s remarks were about the upcoming meeting between President Biden and the Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco this month and follows White House rhetoric that stressed the importance of mutual and beneficial competition between the U.S. and China.
President Biden and his administration needed help to effectively negotiate with President Xi Jinping and the CCP at the APEC. The Chinese money in Congress, lobbying groups, academia, and think tanks makes it almost impossible to demand China become a mutually agreeable partner that adheres to agreements; they hold the purse strings for many.
During the Obama-Biden administration, President Xi often stated they would be the number one superpower by 2025, and the mainstream media accepted this narrative. The Obama-Biden team said it was managing the transition for China as the number one superpower during their term. President Trump campaigned on a commitment that China would not become the number one superpower. He enacted sanctions and tariffs, which drove the Chinese economy into recession and negatively impacted their economy. They are still recovering from Trump’s policies. Their militarily aggressive tactics came to a complete stop under Trump’s watch.
Mullen’s closing in the Fox News interview was: “If we decouple, we have no way to communicate, and we have every way to miscalculate. It is specific. We have over 1,300 sanctions on the Chinese. It is not determined how effective they are, but, for instance, in the fentanyl issue, we have the two companies that make the precursors. We have got them sanctioned, and the Chinese are saying, ‘We are not going to let you deal with these companies or deal with this issue until the sanctions are removed. ‘So, I think we have to have ways to stay in touch.”
Adm. Mullen’s statement sounds naive, given the actions of the Chinese government and the CCP over the last 30 years. Under the Biden administration, China has revived its quest to be the number one superpower. The Chinese are unscrupulous by culture. They do not ascribe to Western norms of verbal or written agreements. Adm. Mullen says we should not decouple because we cannot communicate; if we are currently coupled for communication purposes, the Chinese military and Beijing refused to answer the phone when we called about the spy balloons passing over the U.S. earlier this year. Or communicate about their aggressive transgressions in the South China Sea towards U.S. warships or the threatening in-flight incidents that are happening daily by the Chinese Air Force? Calls to our hotline to the USSR and Russia, established in 1963, linking the Pentagon and the Kremlin, are answered immediately, and incidents are addressed. Still, the Chinese refuse to answer the phone except to accuse the U.S. of being the aggressor. (READ MORE: After Meeting Xi, Biden Calls Him a Dictator)
Last week at the APEC, President Biden’s meeting with President XI was disgraceful and embarrassing for most Americans. Again, Biden said he wanted to avoid decoupling with China before their meeting. In Negotiation 101, you are taught never to expose your actual intentions.
The pundits have concluded that Biden got Xi to agree that China will go directly after specific chemical companies that make fentanyl precursors. How will they enforce the request to stop such a vast network of companies making millions? The Chinese government made the same promises to President Obama in 2016, and Trump in 2019, with little follow-through. China claims that military-to-military communications will be reopened. Nevertheless, the Chinese military often announces it is preparing to go to war with the U.S. President Xi recalled the pandas earlier this year for diplomatic reasons. He told President Bident that he was sending some new pandas. Really!
The U.S. would have never considered “coupling” with the USSR during the Cold War. They were our adversary because of their support for global communism. The same is true of China, and there is nothing positive than can come from the “coupled” relationship with the People’s Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party. The history of the U.S.-Sino relationship has been one-sided; the U.S. has a $215 billion trade deficit with China. That business would provide many jobs in the U.S. and the rest of the world.
President Trump’s policies were favorable for American businesses and people. Trump halted China’s ambition and aggression to become the number one superpower by 2025. He stood firmly against the Chinese government and the state-owned companies with their unregulated industries. For decades, U.S. corporations used cheap Chinese labor to generate higher profits at the expense of the welfare and safety of the American people. One area of great concern is the pharmaceutical industry that manufactures medicines in China. There is no regulation of medicine manufacturing in China, and we need to know what ingredients are used in medication exported to the U.S. Meanwhile, oversized U.S. government agencies are stifling manufacturing in America. Congress needs to act and start enforcing policies and laws on the books that benefit and protect the American people.
We must decouple the U.S. economy from China and the CCP for several reasons, but most importantly, national security. Remember that we won World War II because of our manufacturing might. This strength was sold off to China by Bill Clinton, with Republican help. As part of its entry into the WTO, China gained the “most favored nation status,” Cray super-computer, which reduced their R&D by 25 years, and coveted seats at the United Nations. China has bought many U.S. companies involved in agriculture, genetic research, and strategic weapons systems.
How can the United States allow China such dominance over our economy and integration into our national security apparatus? The Chinese people will not overthrow the CCP because of the success of the Chinese version of capitalism for its citizens. The reality is that the People’s Republic of China is a Communist country, and rebellion is violently suppressed; the example is Tiananmen Square. While U.S. companies enjoy higher profits and shareholders’ increasing values, the economy and national security have been significantly compromised. (READ MORE: Why Has the CCP Banned Demonizing America?)
The United States must decouple its economy from China to neuter its aggressive ambitions to be the number one superpower. The Chinese have an export economy, and its largest customer is the United States of America. That needs to end, and we should use America’s resources to regain energy independence, manufacturing juggernaut status, and technological leadership. That does not mean keeping lines of communication open with China as an adversary. The United States can never be an equal or mutual partner with the People’s Republic of China.
Charles Butler, is host of Just The Facts America