America’s irrational fears
Peter T.C. Chang says the US fixation on a China threat is distracting it from serious domestic challenges and holding the world back from addressing urgent critical issues, from climate change and wars to risks from artificial intelligence
The US is gripped by a debilitating fear of China, and unless this is addressed, it could lead to profound uncertainties for the world.
Earlier this month, during their first phone conversation since the San Francisco summit last November, US President Joe Biden discussed with President Xi Jinping their collaboration on pressing issues such as narcotics control, climate change and artificial intelligence (AI), even as he defended the imposition of hi-tech sanctions on China.
Last month, the House of Representatives voted through a bill that could force a TikTok ban in the US, a move that reflects the apprehension towards China. Biden has pledged to sign the bill into law once it is approved by the Senate.
Clearly, US-China ties have yet to thaw. Marked by profound mistrust, the relationship continues to be defined by competition, rather than cooperation.
Meanwhile, the crises in Ukraine and Gaza persist with no foreseeable resolution. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has reached out to Xi about a proposed peace summit, while leaders in the Arab world are open to Beijing’s help to broker a twostate solution to the IsraeliPalestinian conflict. China has declared its commitment to leverage its influence to facilitate a resolution to both crises.
Unfortunately, Washington still sees China as a threat to its global dominance. During his call, Biden cautioned Xi against escalating tensions across the
Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea. Separately, several Republicans have called for America’s withdrawal from the Ukraine war to reallocate assets towards countering purported rising threats from China.
Herein lies the paradox confronting China. Why would Beijing mediate for peace in Europe and the Middle East when this would free the US to pivot towards the Asia-Pacific to oppose China?
At the San Francisco summit last year, Xi and Biden struck a deal wherein Beijing agreed to limit the export of fentanyl precursor chemicals, and Biden reciprocated by easing some of its sanctions. The transaction underscores Xi’s insistence on a fundamental principle of cooperation: the quid pro quo expectation.
Like any other party, Beijing anticipates reciprocity for its help. Therefore, if the US seeks China’s collaboration in addressing the Ukraine and Gaza crises, it must reciprocate by mitigating the risk of conflict in the Asia-Pacific.
Despite Xi’s commitment, however, experts doubt that restrictions on precursor exports alone can curb the US opioid epidemic. This scepticism arises from the recognition that multiple factors fuel the American narcotic addiction, including inadequate regulation and weak oversight leading to overprescription.
The opioid crisis is a symptom of an ailing America haunted by fear. The nation, deeply divided, is wrestling with crises rooted in racial, religious and socioeconomic disparities. Adding to these is the trepidation that adversaries like China could capitalise on these vulnerabilities.
Indeed, mired in a bitter rivalry, the US and China find themselves trapped in a cycle of distrust, where actions by one often reinforce suspicions in the other. In the US, this mistrust has stoked apprehensions about
China’s allegedly widening array of threats to homeland security.
These fears range from unsubstantiated accusations of spy balloons, shipping cranes deployed as Trojan horses and the weaponisation of Chinese-made electric vehicles.
The US is gripped by a debilitating Sinophobia, a fear that could result in misdiagnosing problems, with potentially devastating consequences. For instance, the singling out of TikTok over security concerns has been widely criticised as a distraction from an industry-wide issue.
The spotlight on TikTok’s potential impact on the 2024 US presidential election is also diverting attention from more critical issues plaguing America’s increasingly fragile democracy.
The reality is that America is deeply polarised, and the election is unlikely to mend its fractured social fabric. Should Donald Trump secure victory in the November presidential election, he has vowed retribution for his enemies. If he faces defeat, the possibility of another uprising akin to the January 6 Capitol riot cannot be dismissed.
Merely focusing on external threats will not resolve the issues vexing America. The origin of these problems is intrinsic to the
US and demand internal solutions.
On the global stage, the era of US unipolarity as the sole superpower has ended. China is playing an influential role in reshaping the world order into a more inclusive, multipolar one. However, the US persists in viewing China as a challenge to the universal principle of rights and liberty. This fixation on the China threat is deflecting attention from the real dangers to peace, notably the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, which risk escalating into broader conflicts.
The mistrust between the US and China has far-reaching consequences for humankind, undermining our collective ability to respond effectively to the pressing challenges posed by climate change and the risks associated with artificial intelligence.
The US needs to adopt a more balanced assessment of China. Neglecting to do so risks complicating efforts to resolve America’s domestic problems, disrupting the reconfiguration of the world order, and leaving us vulnerable to crises that could adversely affect the fate of humanity.
The reality is that America is deeply polarised, and the election is unlikely to mend its fractured social fabric