US Got China Wrong, But Trump Is Turning Things Around, Expert Says
September 30, 2018 Updated: September 30, 2018
WASHINGTON—“‘Did we get China Wrong?’ The issue to me is resoundingly ‘yes’”, said Bill Gertz, senior editor of the Washington Free Beacon and one of the leading journalists on national security issues. “The good news is, there has been a major shift by the Trump administration in its focus on China.”
Gertz made the above comments in a Defense Forum Foundation Luncheon on Sept. 28 in Washington.
How Did We Get China Wrong?
Gertz said that the United States misunderstood China when he published his book “The China Threat” in 2000 and has continued to misunderstand China in the 18 years since.
He gave as an example of how once the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, a three star general, insisted to him that China was not a threat, “because they said they are not a threat.”
“This gives you a sense of the power of the influence of policies that had allowed U.S. government and policy elites outside the government to get China wrong,” Gertz explained.
Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (L) meets Chinese regime leader Xi Jinping (R) at the Great Hall of the People on Dec. 2, 2016 In Beijing, China. (Nicolas Asouri-Pool /Getty Images)
Gertz said that Henry Kissinger, Secretary of State during the Nixon administration, represents the wrong thinking on China. “What’s little known is that he has made tens of millions of dollars in China arranging for American businesses to do business in China.”
According to Gertz, U.S. China policy progressed throughout the last several decades to the point that during the Bush administration, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said “we want a strong China.”
“Guess what? We’re now having a strong China. And it is affecting every aspect of our system: our economy, our technology, our innovation, which is the engine of our economy. It is affecting our military, our intelligence, ” Gertz said.
‘The China Threat’ Explodes
Gertz said a lot of the things he reported in his book “The China Threat” have really “exploded” in the past 18 years, which is why he entitled his speech “The China Threat 2.0.”
The “exploded” issues include China’s proliferation activities, intelligence activities, and technology theft.
Gertz said although Kissinger is trying to make sure the United States does not take a hard line on China, things are different now with the Trump administration.
Gertz said the Trump administration, for the first time, announced last week that the Chinese were behind the United States Office of Personnel Management attack in 2015, during which 22.1 million records were stolen.
“During the Obama administration, they refused to blame China,” Gertz said.
“The Chinese are now utilizing those 22.1 million records, including those of every security holder in the U.S. government,” Gertz said. “I am told by the U. S. government that the Chinese are using artificial intelligence as a way to go after target people who are either recruits for giving espionage or somehow could be used to get further cyber attacks.”
Chinese Military’s No. 1 Priority
Gertz reminded the audience that the Chinese military is not a traditional, national army. It is a political army, the army of the Communist Party in China, and it is very different from the U.S., British, or French armies.
“It’s a party army. Its No. 1 priority is not the protection of China. It is the protection of the ruling Communist Party of China,” Gertz explained.
Gertz said that cyber attacks from China are massive. It has been estimated that $500 billion worth of some of the most valuable American technology has been stolen by the Chinese Communist Party.
Economic Warfare And Influence Operations
“Economic warfare” is another aspect of the “China Threat 2.0.” The White House released a report in June this year, announcing that China is engaged in “economic aggression.”
“And this has been the basis of Trump’s trade war that is now facing with China,” Gertz said, “This is the first time in a long time that the U. S. government is really, aggressively countering this massive program.”
China’s influence operations are also part of the “China Threat 2.0.” President Trump announced at the UN Security Council meeting last week that “China is seeking to influence the U.S. midterm elections.”
Gertz said that he got information from other sources that the Chinese Communist Party is trying to help the Democrats win control of Congress, and therefore to defeat the Trump administration’s aggressive and tough posture on trade and Chinese technology theft.
Bill Gertz gives a speech entitled "The China Threat 2.0: Beijing's Use of Asymmetric Warfare Capabilities in Seeking Global Supremacy" at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington on Sept. 28, 2018. (Jennifer Zeng/The Epoch Times)
