President Trump just took the latest escalatory move in a trade war the United States and China are vigorously waging as either a proxy for a shooting war, or a run-up to one. The outcome of the trade confrontation, and the lessons it teaches, will greatly influence the likelihood of actual conflict in the future. It is essential …
By Joseph Bosco When two U.S. Navy destroyers passed through the international waters of the Taiwan Strait in early July, the head of China’s Taiwan affairs office accused Washington of “playing the Taiwan card.” At the end of August, Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen made “stopover” visits to Los Angeles and Houston on her way to …
Read moreThe ‘Taiwan Card’ and its Role in US-China Relations
In July, a top CIA official observed at a security forum that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has long been fundamentally waging a “cold war by definition” against the United States. This new Cold War, however, is not like the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, the official said. Since the …
Read moreGeopolitics Watch: The CCP is Hijacking the ‘New Cold War’ Narrative
On Aug. 24, United States President Donald Trump announced a freeze in denuclearization talks with North Korea over what he felt was a lack of progress on the issue and the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) inadequate cooperation with sanctions. Since then, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) leader Kim Jong Un has begun signaling …
Read moreGeopolitics Watch: Kim’s Outreach to Trump Bodes Well for North Korea Denuclearization
By Joseph Bosco China scholars and policy practitioners increasingly are accepting a painful and long-denied reality: four decades of Western engagement have failed to induce critical changes in the domestic and foreign policies of the Chinese Communist Party. But the experts still avoid facing the logical follow-on reality: Sustainable peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific …
Read moreTrump Must Set ‘America Firm’ Course with China to Protect Taiwan and US Interests
From conducting invasion drills to threatening “unification with military force” upon the visit of United States warships, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been consistent in its messaging to take Taiwan by military means. Lately, the CCP has also stepped up diplomatic efforts to win over Taiwan’s allies and isolate the Republic of China (ROC) …
Read moreGeopolitics Watch: PRC ‘Taiwan Invasion’ Propaganda Backfires
William Evanina, director of the United States National Counterintelligence and Security Center, spoke about the magnitude of the Chinese communist regime’s espionage threat to America in a Sept. 4 CBS News podcast. “With respect to the prioritization and right now, China is number one,” he said. “Existentially, long-term, they’re the largest threat to our national …
Read moreGeopolitics Watch: US Affirms Existential Nature of the CCP Threat
By Joseph Bosco The People’s Republic of China has successfully defied the international order and is relentlessly remaking it in its own mold. Nothing demonstrates that dangerous reality more vividly, or sadly, than continued global regressions in the cause of human rights and democracy. It once was hoped that engaging China’s communist regime, and welcoming it …
Read moreChina’s Wealth Lures Nations to Shun Taiwan, Ignore Persecutions
The Trump administration signaled a shift in the United States policy on China from engagement to competition with the 2017 National Security Strategy. The passing of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (several provisions target the pernicious behavior of the People’s Republic of China while providing greater assistance to the Republic of China; see our …
Read moreGeopolitics Watch: The CCP’s Propaganda War on Trump’s China Policy
On Aug. 24, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission published a report on the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) United Front work overseas and its challenges to the United States. The 39-page commission report, which draws mainly from secondary sources, gives a background of the CCP United Work Front Department and some of its associated …
Read moreGeopolitics Watch: The Coming Ideological Turn in US Policy on China