The Biden administration must not ignore the red flags.
From launching cyberattacks to stealing intellectual property from Western tech companies and supporting authoritarian regimes worldwide, China’s global ambitions conflict with the United States’
interests, both domestically and abroad. Now more than ever, President Biden’s handling of Sino-American relations is crucial to protecting the U.S. global hegemony.
On July 6, 2022, before Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s scheduled meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, FBI Director Christopher Wray and MI5 Director General Ken McCallum gave a joint press briefing. They warned business leaders about the Chinese government’s efforts to steal intellectual property from Western tech companies through espionage. But public officials have been all bark and no bite.
Intellectual property theft and Chinese espionage have been taking place in the U.S. for decades. We’ve simply been hitting snooze every time the cyber- or national-security alarm goes off. Consequently, through cyberattacks and traditional espionage, China has acquired sensitive information and intellectual property for cutting-edge technologies from the American government, academic institutions and major companies. In addition to lost data, these cyberattacks cost consumers billions of dollars.
The Biden administration has a duty to step up and contain China’s authoritarian grasp expanding worldwide.
China’s economic threat
China’s economy has made significant progress in recent years. Beijing befriended America’s enemies by conducting trade, building alliances and forcing an economic dependency on smaller countries. China has also been amassing natural resources on the cheap by exploiting illiberal nations shunned by the U.S. For example, China has smithed deals with Iran, defying America’s plan to choke the Islamic Republic’s economic lifelines. Iran isn’t the biggest market for Chinese goods, but China can buy its oil at a lower price. Iran, too, is a crucial access point to the Middle East.
China also weaponizes its allies against the United States. Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) found that in addition to China, the most malicious cyberattacks in the U.S. come from China’s allies: Iran and North Korea.
I asked Keith Krach, former undersecretary of state, for his opinion of the Chinese Communist Party. The Chinese government follows a “three Cs doctrine,” consisting of “concealment, co-option and coercion,” Krach said.
Krach also drew attention to two major objectives of Chinese President Xi Jinping. “One is regime preservation, and he’ll do anything for that, and he has no regard for human life,” he said, continuing, “The second is global domination. And how he looks at the U.S. as an enemy — not as a competitor, but as an enemy.”
But don’t take his word for it. In 2014, Xi Jinping himself said, “We’re going to place researchers at your parallel lab in China. You’re going to train them up in the U.S. so they can come back. You’re going to take the federally funded research at your facility and run it in China, so we don’t have to pay for it.”
China has been playing the long game over the past two decades in growing its influence over American institutions. Now, we are paying the price.
Deterring China, aiding allies
Former presidents Obama and Trump both understood the challenges that China posed to the world. As a result, both adhered to strategies to hedge against the growing power of the Chinese regime. More importantly, the Trump administration recognized the importance of containing China’s global influence to ensure world peace. Therefore, it geared its national security strategy toward deterring China from escalating regional tension. Sadly, the war in Ukraine has further complicated the current administration’s policy-making regarding China, with fearful comparisons being made between Ukraine and Taiwan.
Maintaining technological superiority is critical to protecting our interests and national security against the threats China poses. But we can’t do this all alone.
The Biden administration should build technological allies globally to collaborate on research and development of new technologies. Moreover, if we want to keep the Chinese technological and telecommunications products, such as Huawei and ZTE, that are used for spycraft out of the market globally, we should get all of our allies on the same page. Some countries such as South Africa have refused to ban Huawei products because they’re worried about the economic hit it would cause. But the U.S. can remedy this by facilitating the flow of American technology to these countries by removing trade barriers and offering a “rip and replace” program similar to the one FCC implemented domestically.
We don’t develop technology like we used to
According to the Brookings Institute, the U.S. Department of Defense no longer drives innovation priorities through focused research and development funding. Instead, many breakthroughs are driven by the private sector and shaped by consumer preferences.” To remedy this paradigm shift, “[t]he U.S. government needs to build partnerships with the private sector, academia and non-governmental organizations to improve its ability to deliver technological solutions to key challenges.”
The Biden administration must continue the path that former administrations took in prioritizing China as a top national security matter. Moreover, we shouldn’t stop supporting our allies worldwide who the Chinese military targets.
Mealymouthed policies, letters and speeches won’t stop China’s ambitions. Neither will appeasement. The Biden administration has to step up before our interests are damaged beyond repair.
Tahmineh Dehbozorgi is a policy analyst and student at The George Washington University Law School studying national security and cybersecurity law. Follow her on Twitter.
