It’s Time to Get Serious about the People’s Republic of China

As the Chinese Communist Party commemorates its 71st anniversary of seizing power, Americans increasingly recognize a simple fact: The fundamental character of the Communist regime has never changed and will never change.

Despite promising reforms for decades, the CCP is no closer to allowing political freedom than it was at Tiananmen Square in 1989. The brutal crackdowns in Hong Kong, the systematic attempt to destroy the Uyghur culture in Xinjiang, and the relentless assault on the sovereignty of neighboring nations all testify to a stubborn truth: The People’s Republic of China remains a ruthless, one-party dictatorship.

We’ve seen what happens when American politicians and businesses ignore this reality. It isn’t good.

For more than 40 years, previous administrations pursued a policy of accommodation towards the PRC. President Obama welcomed a strong PRC, claiming it was “a positive good” and “ultimately translates into more American jobs.” The tradeoff was simple: We bend to their wishes, they reform.

But the optimistic prognostications proved wrong. By accommodating them, we were changed by the CCP, not the other way around. America hemorrhaged millions of manufacturing jobs, the CCP and its companies stole billions through intellectual-property theft, and the PRC’s military presence expanded across three continents.