Sinophobia unites Americans against China – polls prove

[Percy, “Why China is not a threat: Sinophobia Unites Americans” John Menadue’s Public Policy Journal, Sep 29, 2023, https://johnmenadue.com/why-china-is-not-a-threat-sinophobia-unites-americans/ Accessed 7.19.24 GDI-HB]

Sinophobia unites Americans

Given this dire political rift what is the easiest way to unite Americans? History shows that confronting a common enemy makes Americans “rally round the flag”. Having a perceived foe helps unite America internally unless of course it becomes a losing cause (e.g., Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan).

No one contends that China wants to invade and occupy America. Instead, President Biden’s chief worry is that China might become the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world. He has vowed to stop that. Also, American politicians know that stoking fear of China is a vote-winner across party lines. Indeed, hatred of China is now the single issue that unites Democrats and Republicans.

The recent primary debate between Republican Presidential hopefuls showed each trying to outdo the other in despising China. And not to be outdone Biden referred to China as “bad people” who when they have problems do “bad things” . It didn’t occur to him that when America has problems it looks for a scapegoat abroad.

The demonisation of China has clearly worked. The 2023 survey by the Pew Research Center found that 83% of Americans hold negative views of China. The share who says China is an “enemy” is now 38%. An IPSOS poll found one-third of Americans view China as an imminent threat and two in five Americans think that war with China is likely in the next five years.

Encircling and containing China

The USA and China had a positive relationship until the election of the Trump administration. President Obama called it “the most important bilateral relationship of the 21st century”.

President Trump convinced Americans that China and Mexico explained America’s economic malaise. The solution was to deter Chinese imports with tariffs and block Mexican immigrants with a wall. When Biden got elected in 2020, he ignored Mexico and instead doubled down on economic sanctions on China and announced that he would not allow China’s economy to overtake America’s even though most economist think that is inevitable given China’s huge population and income gap. He also turned Obama’s pivot to Asia into a military containment policy.

China’s long-standing quest for the reunification of Taiwan, if necessary, by force and its building of a military base on a South China Sea atoll to safeguard vital shipping lanes through the Malacca and Lombok straits were depicted as the first steps to China’s territorial expansion in Asia. By contrast America’s eleven major military bases encircling China’s were justified as upholding the “international rules-based order” even though America refuses to be a signatory to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, won’t accept verdicts by the International Criminal Court and has hobbled the World Trade Organisation by refusing to appoint judges to its appellate board.