Array
The Heritage Foundation released a thorough report titled “Winning the New Cold War: A Plan for Countering China” on March 28. In an address to introduce the plan, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., declared that the report will “help us to wake up and to realize that we are not just in a competition; we’re in a conflict.”
“It is time to acknowledge reality: The United States is in a New Cold War with the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” Heritage President Kevin Roberts wrote, expressing a sentiment espoused throughout the report.
This foregrounding of the stark reality of the geopolitical competition with China characterizes Heritage’s expert analysis, cutting through the typical attitude of the corporate media and President Joe Biden.
For decades, America has followed a bipartisan and naïve policy of unfettered engagement with China, which has allowed the Chinese Communist Party to entrench and enrich itself within the international system while facing no consequences for its aggression abroad or totalitarianism at home. China now uses its wealth and technology to supercharge a policy of civil-military fusion, linking economics and military strategy.
One of the biggest challenges presented by China as compared to the USSR is the depth of the Chinese penetration of America’s economy, politics, culture, and society. The Heritage plan leaves no stone unturned when discussing these malign activities, advocating a “whole-of-government and whole-of-society effort” to counter them. 1. Ban Dangerous Chinese Apps
TikTok and other CCP-linked apps are incredibly popular, especially among American youth. These apps threaten personal privacy and national security. Heritage recommends an outright ban of TikTok and a more aggressive, risk-oriented approach to assessing foreign-owned information technologies in the U.S.
This would take very little in terms of new law, and the federal government has processes in place to monitor or ban these apps. Congress is already debating this issue, so the prognosis looks good. 2. Ban the Import and Sale of Chinese Drones
Although a lesser-known issue, CCP-linked drone manufacturers, specifically Da-Jiang Innovations (DJI), dominate the commercial and recreational markets. As with TikTok, all information collected by those drones is stored on CCP-accessible servers.
Local, state, and federal agencies have used DJI drones — some given as free “gifts” during the pandemic — to “monitor every aspect of life in these cities,” including “the precise location of critical infrastructure and other sensitive information.”
Bans on these drones can be included in the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) or implemented via executive order. Educating non-federal officials about the drones could reduce the threat at the state and local levels.
