Defending Against the Chinese Communist Party by Exporting American Values Through Trade
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has emerged as the greatest threat to the United States in the 21st century, both in terms of national and economic security. In addition to its well-documented human rights abuses of Uyghurs and other minority groups in the Xinjiang region, China has made a habit of engaging in heavy-handed, unfair, and illegal trade practices. The good news is that American leadership across the globe may be able to advance our own interests as well as the interests of our allies while defending against the CCP.
China’s influence in South America has grown recently, as it has increased investment in the region and leveraged its ability to produce masks and ventilators during the pandemic in exchange for diplomatic allegiance. Time reported that “in the past four years, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Panama have each switched their recognition from Taiwan to China. Gaining these kinds of alliances in Latin America offers Beijing invaluable votes at the U.N.”
How has China returned the favor? They illegally fish off the coasts of several South American countries while overwhelmed and underequipped defense forces have no way of warding them off. Axios reported last month the Office of Intelligence and Analysis has recommended “the U.S. should consider leading a multilateral coalition with South American nations to push back against China's illegal fishing and trade practices.”
Foreign Policy reported, “China banned imports of Taiwanese pineapples, the latest in a string of punitive trade measures against democracies that illustrate how China has weaponized its growing economic clout.” It was an economic blow to our ally, Taiwan, as China buys more than 90% of pineapples produced on the island. China imposed tariffs on Australian wine over grievances that Australian media covered human rights abuses in Xinjiang and called for an investigation into the origins of COVID-19.
China’s unfair trade practices have hit closer to home in West Texas as well.
The U.S. is the world’s largest producer of grain sorghum, much of that produced in West Texas with China being the largest customer. In 2018, China hit American Sorghum with a 179% tariff before reducing it to 27%. According to Marketplace, “in 2014, China began dumping [cotton] reserves, depressing prices and killing the export market for American cotton growers.” Lubbock sits in the middle of the largest contiguous cotton patch in the world, so the global cotton market has profound effects on our local economy.
China is obviously using its growing economic muscle to bully other countries abroad while denying its human rights abuses. So how can the U.S. push back against the CCP’s rapidly expanding influence that threatens our economic and national security while exporting American values?
In March, the U.S., Australia, India, and Japan reaffirmed their commitment to work together in support of “a region that is free, open, inclusive, healthy, anchored by democratic values, and unconstrained by coercion.” A strong alliance between such countries is a show of strength and indicates a readiness to act together economically with our allies in the Indo-Pacific region.
On building alliances with South American countries that have desperately welcomed Chinese investment, perhaps the U.S. could start by leading a coalition to crack down on the illegal deep-sea fishing China is conducting. The Department of Homeland Security has already determined with “high confidence” that the Chinese fishing in South America would cause economic harm to the U.S., so this would protect our own economic interests while at the same time halting the CCP’s growing influence in the region.
The U.K. is in the process of applying for membership to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and there have been discussions about the U.S., Taiwan, Colombia, South Korea, and others potentially joining. China has even said it would consider joining, which could be a way for the CPTPP alliance of countries that largely share American values to use their combined strength and influence to bring China to account for its harmful trade practices and human rights violations.
On issues of trade and diplomacy, the conversation often shifts to whether the U.S. should look out for its own interests or if it should be more concerned with the defense and promotion of its allies. So long as one doesn’t come at the expense of the other – and on the issue of competing globally with China for our economic and national security, I certainly don’t think it does – it’s not only possible, but preferable, that the U.S. should do both.
China’s influence in South America has grown recently, as it has increased investment in the region and leveraged its ability to produce masks and ventilators during the pandemic in exchange for diplomatic allegiance. Time reported that “in the past four years, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Panama have each switched their recognition from Taiwan to China. Gaining these kinds of alliances in Latin America offers Beijing invaluable votes at the U.N.”
How has China returned the favor? They illegally fish off the coasts of several South American countries while overwhelmed and underequipped defense forces have no way of warding them off. Axios reported last month the Office of Intelligence and Analysis has recommended “the U.S. should consider leading a multilateral coalition with South American nations to push back against China's illegal fishing and trade practices.”
Foreign Policy reported, “China banned imports of Taiwanese pineapples, the latest in a string of punitive trade measures against democracies that illustrate how China has weaponized its growing economic clout.” It was an economic blow to our ally, Taiwan, as China buys more than 90% of pineapples produced on the island. China imposed tariffs on Australian wine over grievances that Australian media covered human rights abuses in Xinjiang and called for an investigation into the origins of COVID-19.
China’s unfair trade practices have hit closer to home in West Texas as well.
The U.S. is the world’s largest producer of grain sorghum, much of that produced in West Texas with China being the largest customer. In 2018, China hit American Sorghum with a 179% tariff before reducing it to 27%. According to Marketplace, “in 2014, China began dumping [cotton] reserves, depressing prices and killing the export market for American cotton growers.” Lubbock sits in the middle of the largest contiguous cotton patch in the world, so the global cotton market has profound effects on our local economy.
China is obviously using its growing economic muscle to bully other countries abroad while denying its human rights abuses. So how can the U.S. push back against the CCP’s rapidly expanding influence that threatens our economic and national security while exporting American values?
In March, the U.S., Australia, India, and Japan reaffirmed their commitment to work together in support of “a region that is free, open, inclusive, healthy, anchored by democratic values, and unconstrained by coercion.” A strong alliance between such countries is a show of strength and indicates a readiness to act together economically with our allies in the Indo-Pacific region.
On building alliances with South American countries that have desperately welcomed Chinese investment, perhaps the U.S. could start by leading a coalition to crack down on the illegal deep-sea fishing China is conducting. The Department of Homeland Security has already determined with “high confidence” that the Chinese fishing in South America would cause economic harm to the U.S., so this would protect our own economic interests while at the same time halting the CCP’s growing influence in the region.
The U.K. is in the process of applying for membership to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and there have been discussions about the U.S., Taiwan, Colombia, South Korea, and others potentially joining. China has even said it would consider joining, which could be a way for the CPTPP alliance of countries that largely share American values to use their combined strength and influence to bring China to account for its harmful trade practices and human rights violations.
On issues of trade and diplomacy, the conversation often shifts to whether the U.S. should look out for its own interests or if it should be more concerned with the defense and promotion of its allies. So long as one doesn’t come at the expense of the other – and on the issue of competing globally with China for our economic and national security, I certainly don’t think it does – it’s not only possible, but preferable, that the U.S. should do both.
