With more than two billion residents, the world’s most spoken language and a booming economy, China is undoubtedly a rising global superpower. Suddenly America is faced with the prospect of a country whose financial and military power could soon rival its own, prompting many to wonder if China is a friend or foe. Is China really a red flag for the U.S.?
China is giving diplomatic and material support to dangerous and unsavory regimes, such as North Korea’s, which periodically says it will destroy New York or invade ally South Korea, the host to about 26,000 American troops. Beijing is continuing to provide diplomatic and technical support to Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
China is, since 2003, systemically hacking civilian and defense computer networks of the United States and its allies in Europe and Asia.
China is supplying, through Iran, the Taliban in Afghanistan and insurgents in Iraq with small arms and the components for roadside bombs.
Chinese academics, undoubtedly at the Communist Party’s behest, publicly raise the possibility of Beijing dumping its holding of U.S. Federal government debt to injure the American economy.
Finally, in 2005 a Chinese general used a public forum to issue a threat to use nuclear weapons against the United States.
Will China become an actual adversary to the United States? We do not know. But we do know the past. And past acts show that China, at the very least, poses a threat.
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