by WorldTribune Staff, February 18, 2025 Real World News
During his first term, President Donald Trump’s strategy against communist China was “hampered by intense efforts to survive domestic partisan attacks, largely compartmentalized within economic and trade policy and greatly impeded by the catastrophic contingency of China’s own making: the global COVID-19 scourge,” an analyst wrote.
It’s a different story in Trump 2.0.
“With a resounding electoral victory, a deliverance from making unenforceable trade deals with Beijing and having survived the China pandemic, the gloves are off,” China analyst Miles Yu wrote for The Washington Times on Feb. 7.
“Whether his second term will consolidate or undermine his prior legacy depends largely on whether he can defeat the single greatest existential threat to American democracy: the Chinese Communist Party (CCP),” Yu wrote. “This democracy, inherited from the Founding Fathers and expanded by Andrew Jackson, is under siege, and Trump’s resolve to confront this threat is a critical challenge ahead.”
The battle against the CCP reaches “into every domain of national power — economic, military, diplomatic and ideological. Every major foreign policy decision from this administration must be understood in this context,” wrote Yu, director of the China Center at the Hudson Institute and a former contributing editor for Geostrategy-Direct.com.
Trump 2.0 is focused on blocking Chinese military and economic encroachment in North America with early initiatives targeting the Panama Canal, one of the world’s critical shipping arteries, and Greenland, a key chokepoint for China’s long-range strike capabilities and a vast island rich in rare earth minerals.
Critical to the success of Trump’s China policy, Yu noted in an earlier column, is “ending the world’s misguided illusion of neutrality — particularly the notion that nations can remain impartial between the United States and China. Fortunately, we have already witnessed President Trump’s determination to challenge geopolitical opportunism, as evidenced by his bold demands for Panama to return control of the Panama Canal (now under Chinese interests) and his desire to acquire Greenland, a strategic chokepoint coveted by Beijing. The rationale behind ending global neutrality between the U.S. and China is profound, vital and indispensable for free nations’ future.”
Yu continued: “First, neutrality is, in essence, a form of complicity. The claim that a nation can remain “neutral” overlooks the fundamental reality that neutrality inherently aligns with one of the competing sides — often the wrong one. In this context, failing to stand with the United States — a nation that, despite its flaws, represents liberal democratic values — only strengthens China’s authoritarian ambitions.”
The Xi Jinping regime in Beijing “thrives on ambiguity, exploiting divisions among smaller states to exert influence, particularly in regions like Southeast Asia and Africa,” Yu wrote. “A neutral stance effectively emboldens China, signaling tacit approval for its actions, including human rights abuses, military expansion in the South China Sea and efforts to undermine international norms.”
Neutrality is often also “disguised as pragmatism,” Yu added. “Advocates argue that nonalignment allows countries to extract benefits from both sides of a geopolitical divide. However, this argument neglects the dangers of overdependence on China. Many countries that once embraced neutrality have now realigned themselves with the United States for their self-interest. Far from remaining indifferent, these nations have recognized the long-term risks of kowtowing to Chinese demands.”
Yu concluded: “The era of distraction, internal decay and strategic drift is over. The world must now reckon with a reality Washington’s elite long ignored: The battle for global dominance is here, and it is centered on China. If Trump succeeds, America’s dominance will be reaffirmed. If he fails, the world order will be reshaped — on Beijing’s terms.”
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