FIRST ON FOX – The Heritage Foundation released a report Tuesday that says the U.S. is in a new Cold War with China, and that the U.S. must take several steps to defend itself from China’s economic, military and cultural efforts to supplant American leadership.
“Whether politicians and pundits in Washington care to acknowledge it or not, the United States is in a new Cold War with the PRC, an adversary even more capable and dangerous than the Soviet Union was at the height of its power,” Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts said in a forward to the report.
“Critical supply chains, from vital rare-earth elements to key pharmaceutical products, remain largely or wholly dependent on the PRC,” he said. “The COVID-19 pandemic exposed just how much of the U.S. economy is reliant on the PRC for essential goods and services.”
The report finds that China is also working on U.S. soil to subvert U.S. culture by establishing itself on college campuses and in U.S. cities, where Chinese authorities seek to regulate the activities of Chinese Americans. Because of these steps, and the broad rivalry seen on issues such as economic strength and military prowess, the report finds that the bilateral relationship “increasingly bears all the hallmarks of a cold war.”
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It is a message that is likely to resonate with Republicans in Congress – House Speaker Kevin McCarthy argued in December that the U.S. has entered a Cold War with China – but also many Democrats who have joined with the GOP this year to pass legislation that recognizes the need to treat China less as an ally and more as a strategic threat. In early January, more than two-thirds of House Democrats voted with Republicans to establish a new House committee to examine America’s strategic competition with China, and many voted with the GOP to block the sale of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to Chinese entities.
After a Chinese surveillance balloon was spotted over U.S. territory and was shot down by the Biden administration after it was allowed to cross the entire country at 60,000 feet, every Democrat voted with Republicans in the House to condemn China and demand more information about the incident.
Additionally, this month, all House Republicans and Democrats voted to pass a bill demanding the declassification of all information that links China to the COVID vaccine.
“From unleashing COVID on the world and facilitating the Fentanyl crisis to espionage and intellectual property theft at our universities, Communist China has made clear they are more than a competitor,” said Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., a member of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. “The CCP is our greatest adversary and must be treated as such.”
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“For the past three decades, America operated under the naive belief that the era of great power competition was over,” added Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “Now, we are facing the single greatest threat our nation has ever known.”
Both lawmakers praised the Heritage report for offering a blueprint on how to counter China, which the report warns has the capacity to be a long-term threat to the U.S. and its allies.
“To win the New Cold War, this plan calls for sustained U.S. economic growth, greater political will, stronger external partnerships, secure borders, synchronized economic and security policies, resilient supply chains, enhanced military deterrence, and U.S. energy independence,” it said. “This plan simultaneously exposes the Chinese Communist Party’s aggressive tactics against the U.S. and represents a call-to-arms for all segments of U.S. society, including state and local governments, the private sector, the American people, and U.S. allies and partners abroad.”
Among other things, the report calls on the executive branch to deny Chinese government access to Defense Department-funded research projects, eliminate all Chinese police operations in the U.S. used to control Chinese Americans, ban Chinese-owned apps like TikTok, work with state and local governments to prevent Chinese companies from winning contracts to build infrastructure, and exert tighter controls over Chinese land purchases in the U.S.
It recommends tighter sanctions against Chinese entities that contribute to the flow of fentanyl across the border.
The report insists on a series of steps aimed at strengthening the U.S. economy, so the U.S. is in a better position to compete against China. That includes setting up reliable supply chains for semiconductors and critical minerals outside of China and boosting protection of U.S. intellectual property.
It calls on policymakers to beef up U.S. defense capabilities to deal with China – that includes rebuilding the depleted U.S. Navy fleet and taking steps to arm Taiwan against a possible Chinese invasion.
Additionally, it recommends an investigation into how COVID spread and holding China accountable for its role in the pandemic. “Until a transparent and thorough investigation is conducted with full Chinese cooperation, the U.S. should suspend funding and cooperation with Chinese laboratories on biomedical research,” it said.