Compilation image showing Joe Biden (Left), Donald Trump (Center) and Xi Jinping (Right). Photo: Geopolitical Economy Report.
By Ben NortonĀ –Ā Sep 22, 2024
In what it called āChina Weekā, the US House of Representatives approved 25 anti-Chinese laws over a few days, in bipartisan votes. Cold War Two fervor is reaching fever pitch in Washington.
The US House of Representatives approved 25 anti-China laws in just one week in September: a clear sign that Washingtonās new cold war is quickly heating up.
The hawkish House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party proudlyĀ described these days as āChina Weekā, boasting that much of the legislation had āoverwhelming bipartisanā support.
NBC News noted that āmany of the measures passed with bipartisan support at a time when viewing [China] primarily as a geopolitical rival isĀ one of the few issues both Republicans and Democrats can agree onā.
Cold War Two fervor is reaching fever pitch in the United States. CIA Director William Burns has referred toĀ China as the ābigge[st] long-term threatā. The last two US secretaries of state, DemocratĀ Antony BlinkenĀ and RepublicanĀ Mike Pompeo, gaveĀ speeches specifically dedicated to demonizing China.
In an article in the Financial Times in 2023, centrist British columnist Gideon Rachman recalled that, āVisiting Washington last week, it was striking howĀ commonplace talk of war between the US and ChinaĀ has becomeā.
āMany influential people seem to think that a US-China war is not only possible but probableā, Rachman wrote, adding that āUS officials are now looking at the cold war ā not as a warning, but as a potential modelā.
Among the bills passed during September 2024ās āChina Weekā was the āCountering the PRC Malign Influence Fund Authorization Actā, which would give $1.63 billion to the State Department and USAID over five years ($325 million each year from 2023 through 2027) in order to fund organizations that spread anti-China propaganda around the world.
Anti-interventionist think tank the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft noted that this massive funding for anti-China propaganda would amount to roughlyĀ twice the annual operating expenses of CNN.
Other bills approved in āChina Weekā include legislation that threatens theĀ Hong KongĀ Economic and Trade Office, targetsĀ Chinese officialsĀ and their family members over Taiwan, seeks to strengthen US influence in theĀ Pacific region, deepens ties toĀ Japan and South Korea, expandsĀ blacklistsĀ of Chinese companies, and hopes toĀ weaken the renminbi.
Many of the bills wouldĀ facilitateĀ the imposition of furtherĀ unilateral US sanctionsĀ on entities not only from China, but also from Russia, Iran, the DPRK (North Korea), Cuba, and Venezuela. (The United States has already imposedĀ sanctions on one-third of all countries on Earth, including 60% of poor nations.)
The so-called āEnd Chinese Dominance of Electric Vehicles in America Actā portrays Chinese EVs as a supposed threat, and would restrict them. However, it fails to mention that, as the New York Times put it, āfew Chinese electric cars are sold in U.S.ā An April 2024 report by the US International Trade Commission found that Chinese vehicles made up a mereĀ 2% of EV imports into the USĀ from 2018 to 2023. Despite this, just a month later, President Joe Biden announcedĀ 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs.
Other bills passed during āChina Weekā target ChineseĀ drones,Ā batteries,Ā biotechnology,Ā routers and modems,Ā telecommunications infrastructure, andĀ media outlets.
Approved legislation would also blockĀ scientific cooperationĀ with China, while banning theĀ sale of US farmlandĀ to nationals of China, Russia, Iran, and the DPRK (North Korea).
An especially redundant bill adopted by the House would withhold funding to US universities that hostĀ Confucius InstitutesĀ ā organizations that teach foreign students about Chinese languages and culture. This measure went through despite the fact that, as was reported in 2023 by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), āIn 2018, Congress restricted federal funding to schools with institutes;Ā nearly all of the institutes have since closedā.
All of this legislation passed during āChina Weekā must subsequently be approved by the Senate and signed by the president before it officially becomes law.
Ben Norton
Benjamin Norton is the founder and editor of the independent news website Multipolarista, where he does original reporting in both English and Spanish. Benjamin has reported from numerous countries, including Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Ecuador, Honduras, Colombia, and more. His journalistic work has been published in dozens of media outlets, and he has done interviews on Sky News, Al Jazeera, Democracy Now, El Financiero Bloomberg, Al Mayadeen teleSUR, RT, TRT World, CGTN, Press TV, HispanTV, Sin Censura, and various TV channels in Mexico, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Bolivia. Benjamin writes a regular column for Al Mayadeen (in English and Spanish). He was formerly a reporter with the investigative journalism website The Grayzone, and previously produced the political podcast and video show Moderate Rebels. His personal website is BenNorton.com, and he tweets at @BenjaminNorton.
