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Weekend Reads
With international focus on the American-brokered peace deal in Gaza, Beijing launched another salvo in its trade war with the United States—placing export restrictions on many critical inputs for advanced technologies. Then, it began another crackdown against Chinese Christians, arresting dozens of pastors, including Ezra Jin Mingri, father-in-law of Hudson Fellow Bill Drexel.
To examine the China threat, Hudson hosted Congressman John Moolenaar (R-MI), chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. He sat down with David Feith to discuss the future of TikTok, tariffs and trade negotiations, how the US can win the race for advanced technologies, and China’s long record of human rights violations.
Watch the event, listen to the podcast, or read the transcript here.
Key Insights
1. The US needs to overcome the China challenge to contain the CCP’s oppressive model.
“Our strategy must be comprehensive, strong enough to deter, smart enough to endure, and principled enough to win. When China detains pastors like Jin Mingri for worshiping, when it imprisons Uyghur Muslims for praying, when it disappears journalists or silences business leaders, it shows the world exactly what kind of a system it represents. Our task is to make sure that the twenty-first century is not defined by that model, that the tools of our artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and advanced manufacturing are governed by free societies that value human dignity.”
2. China has a long history of abusing trade agreements with the US.
“I think we need to view this not simply as a one-week strategy from China. I think we have to recognize they’re going to continue to run this play over and over again. . . . I’ve been advocating and have some bipartisan legislation that looks at . . . their permanent normal trade relations status. I think that should be revoked. I think we should not view them as a normal trading relationship.”
3. China should suffer consequences for its support of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“Clearly, China is propping up Russia. They talk about the no-limits friendship, no-limits partnership. They would say they’re not involved in the conflict, but every bit of information we get is they’re supplying dual use materials that benefit Russia. They’re buying the Russian energy. So I think it’s appropriate for there to be consequences.”
Quotes may be edited for clarity and length.
Go Deeper
Ten years after the US abandoned the belief that engaging Beijing would liberalize China’s regime, doubt and division within the US have prevented Washington from truly adopting a cold war posture. In The Washington Post, David Feith lays out a strategy for the US to prevail in great power competition despite political turmoil at home.
The CCP recently arrested nearly 30 pastors and church workers affiliated with Zion Church in extrajudicial raids across 10 cities. “Hudson Institute stands in full solidarity with Zion Church and all those in China who risk their freedom for their faith,” said Hudson President and CEO John P. Walters in a Hudson statement.
In a new policy memo, Olivia Enos argues that the White House can advance American interests and global human rights by pressing for the release of Pastor Ezra Jin. She offers nine practical policy recommendations to do so.
Technologies like drones mean that adversaries do not need to use conventional military capabilities to harm their opponents. David Feith explained how China could exploit this new way of war to target Americans on CBS News’ 60 Minutes Overtime.
