President Donald Trump inspects Chinese soldiers during a state visit in Beijing. (Photo via Getty Images)

Uniting World Leaders Around the China Challenge

As China accelerates efforts to erase Hong Kong’s autonomy, the gulf between the Chinese Communist Party and the values of the United States and its allies continues to widen. Beyond Hong Kong, examples of China’s abuses continue to mount.

Speaking at a Hudson event last fall, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo highlighted the dissonance that must be addressed:

“These aren’t just [the United States’] problems. They’re problems for all nations that share our values. When we see Beijing use coercion as a preferred tool of statecraft, it’s not good for those of us who believe in democracy and sovereignty as the fundamental norms that ought to dominate world commerce and the way nations interact. These ideas threaten the free and open international order by making extrajudicial territorial and maritime claims in places like the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait. Beijing entwines its neighbors and others in its state-led economic model, often closing deals with bribes, often trapping many in debilitating debt levels, threatening their own sovereignty."

Meanwhile, Hudson scholars are examining how the world’s free nations can counter the CCP’s efforts to erode global norms and values. Read their perspectives on next steps that can be taken by the United States and its allies.

Rebeccah Heinrichs argues in Newsweek that President Trump must shift his rhetoric to address the China challenge head-on:

"[President Trump] should give a major national address and outline the breadth of the challenge posed by the CCP and outline his administration’s efforts to galvanize domestic and global support with the ultimate goal of winning that challenge. It also means supporting countries like Taiwan and Vietnam, which punch far above their weight. It’s time to unify and publicly support those standing firm in defense of national sovereignty, the rule of law, fairness, reciprocity and peace. It’s time to rally the American people on surmounting the China challenge."

Lewis Libby outlines in National Review why U.S. policy should be grounded in China’s observed behavior rather than fantasy:

"In the post-pandemic days to come, democracies must carefully take the measure of the Chinese Communist Party and hold it to account, crafting strategies for what it is, not what they wish it to be. A reassessment of Xi and the CCP looms. From their actions and practices, from assessments of their motives and apparent long-term aims, today’s statesmen, like their forebears, must judge future risks and craft the surest course ahead. These are early days, but the picture of Beijing presented so far is troubling."

Seth Cropsey defines in The Hill what the United States and its allies can do to blunt China's efforts at global economic dominance:

"The United States must capitalize upon the current recognition of the threat China poses to any nation hoping to control its own future. The U.S. should assemble a coalition of states reliant on Chinese debt-financing; as payment for its negligence, these states should refuse to pay China the foreign debt it holds. The U.S. should include victims of Chinese debt-trap diplomacy in this coalition — Kenya, Djibouti, Zambia, the Republic of the Congo and Egypt in Africa, Ecuador in Latin America, Indonesia, Malaysia and Sri Lanka in the Asia-Pacific, are all potential partners. By combining a global debt-elimination campaign with a broader economic policy that rehabilitates economies exploited by China, the U.S. can erode China’s growing political-economic network."

John Lee describes in an interview on Times Now the need for the United States to lead a collective front of nations impacted by Beijing's predatory actions:

"If you look at the United States and China, it is true to say the U.S. is the only country in the world large enough to take on China unilaterally. The Trump administration has shown a lot of resolve in confronting China, but the other countries that have grievances [with China] need the United States to be more cooperative in leading a collective front against the Chinese."

As Secretary Pompeo made clear in his Hudson speech, leaders from all countries will "need to confront these challenges from the PRC head-on" in the days ahead to ensure the 21st century remains one led by America and its allies. 

Quotes have been edited for length and clarity

Hudson Highlights

New Episode of The Realignment

On the newest episode of The Realignment, Saagar and Marshall discuss the impact of the pandemic on the labor market with the Washington Post's Heather Long.

The Future of U.S. Arms Control Policy Outlined at Hudson

As the U.S. announced its decision last week to withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty, Hudson hosted Special Presidential Envoy Marshall Billingslea for his first public remarks. In his discussion with Hudson Senior Fellow Tim Morrison, Ambassador Billingslea outlined Russia’s continuing history of treaty-violating weapons development, the importance of bringing China to the table for trilateral negotiations, and why the U.S. is pursuing a new arms control regime aimed at effective, verifiable objectives that hold treaty partners to account. For key quotes from Ambassador Billingslea, see our sister newsletter, Weekend Reads.

For more on how Russia is violating the treaty and why President Trump is correct to withdraw from it, read Tim Morrison's op-ed in The New York Times.

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