In today’s 24-hour news cycle and social media echo chambers, it might be easy to conclude that political gaps between Democrats and Republicans are greater than ever — and growing. On many issues, they are.
The recently passed National Defense Authorization Act identifies China as “America’s primary competitor” and “the only nation with both the intent and the capability to mount a sustained challenge to the United States’ security and economic interests.” Concerns about China’s ambitions are not relegated to inside the Beltway, either. Recent polling shows that half of Americans say China poses the greatest threat to the United States. By comparison, only 17% named Russia.
That’s a particularly troubling allegation, especially considering that further reporting has come out that shows this is a systemic issue rather than something one or two rogue investment companies participated in. While it’s hard to imagine that such prominent companies could knowingly fund bad actors without detection, it does seem to call out a failing of U.S. government policy to uniformly address potential holes in the system.
That was and is a losing battle because the Chinese government has virtually blurred the line between its public and private sectors — and it is adept at standing up new proxies as soon as U.S. authorities identify one.