• Politics
• United States
• China
• James Palmer

February 18, 2025, 4:57 PM View Comments ()

Elon Musk’s assault on U.S. federal government capabilities has been met with glee from Chinese nationalists and state media. Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has targeted some of Beijing’s bugbears, such as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

Multiple groups monitoring Chinese influence or human rights abuses have also been forced to freeze activities after losing federal funding. Musk, who has extensive business ties to China, has echoed conspiracy theories about USAID and NED that are also promoted by Beijing and Moscow.

This approach marks a stark contrast with Trump’s first term, during which China hawks and aspiring cold warriors dominated. However, while the Trump administration freezes Chinese monitoring programs, closes down key cybersecurity programs, and purges the FBI, it is also throwing out moves that target Beijing.

Aside from fresh tariffs on Chinese goods and threats of more tariffs, U.S. intelligence is now promoting lab leak theories about the origins of COVID-19. But the major provocation is the U.S. State Department dropping language on its Taiwan fact sheet saying that Washington doesn’t support Taiwanese independence, which has sparked a furious Chinese response.

Read more in today’s China Brief: Xi Sends Message to China’s Private Sector