And the Evidence Is in U.S. Courtrooms
I’m Done Pretending This Is Just “Competition”
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is behaving like an adversarial regime running an undeclared, multi‑domain campaign against the United States—using espionage, cyber operations, coercion, and infiltration instead of missiles. And if you doubt that, you don’t have to take my word for it. A lot of the evidence is sitting in plain sight: U.S. indictments, guilty pleas, convictions, and court records that show the same pattern over and over again.
Here’s the part too many people tiptoe around: the people driving this machine don’t live like the people they rule.
The Princes and the People
Inside China, countless families grind through long hours, shrinking opportunity, and a cost of living that keeps climbing—while Party insiders enjoy protected wealth, special access, and lifestyles the average citizen is never meant to touch.
That gap matters. Not because America needs to “lecture” China—but because it reveals how the CCP thinks:
- The Party comes first.
- The elite are protected.
- Everyone else is a resource.
When ordinary Chinese citizens watch leadership live large while millions remain stuck near or under the poverty belt, it doesn’t look like “national rejuvenation.” It looks like a rigged system. And when a regime feels pressure at home, it hunts for wins abroad—stealing technology, controlling narratives, and weakening rivals to project strength and keep the population in line.
In that mindset, everything becomes a tool: trade, talent, universities, platforms, and partnerships. Not because the Chinese people want conflict, but because the CCP blurs the line between state power and civilian life on purpose—and then uses law, coercion, and fear to compel cooperation.
America’s Problem: We Play Fair in a Rigged Game
The United States has something China doesn’t: laws that bind the government, courts that require proof, press scrutiny, and a culture of openness. Those are strengths—until a disciplined adversary turns them into vulnerabilities.
America is “handcuffed” by its own legal and ethical guardrails in a way the CCP simply is not. Beijing can direct companies, punish families, silence dissent, and weaponize state power with minimal internal constraint. They can run influence operations inside our open society while shutting ours out at home. They can shelter theft and coercion behind state protection while our system insists on transparency and due process.
So if we keep treating this like normal competition, we’ll keep losing ground—one contract, one lab, one supply chain, one compromised network at a time.
The Evidence Is Already on the Record
Take a look at what has shown up in U.S. court filings and prosecutions over the years: espionage and theft of defense and aerospace technology; cyber intrusions; covert influence operations; and intimidation of dissidents even on American soil. The common thread is not “bad individuals.” It’s a system—because the CCP expects loyalty, access, and obedience from networks it can pressure or direct.
This is why “it’s just business” is a dangerous myth. When a state treats commerce and academia as instruments of national power, America can’t keep acting like the other side is playing the same sport, with the same rulebook.
What America Should Do (Five Moves That Matter)
If we’re serious, we need policy that matches reality—firm, specific, and enforceable:
- Tighten export controls on strategic technologies.
Focus on dual‑use items (AI, advanced chips, aerospace components, quantum, biotech) and close the loopholes that make “civilian” transfers a backdoor to military use. - Supercharge counterintelligence and enforcement.
More resources for investigators and prosecutors; faster case processing; stronger protection for targeted communities; and real consequences for covert operations. - Make reciprocity the default.
If China blocks U.S. firms, media, and researchers—or forces tech transfer—then access to our markets, capital, and sensitive sectors should shrink accordingly. - Harden visa and academic safeguards without demonizing students.
Target risk through transparency requirements, funding disclosures, sensitive‑lab controls, and tighter screening for high‑risk programs—while protecting legitimate education and exchange. - Build resilient supply chains for strategic goods.
Reduce dependence in critical areas (pharma inputs, rare earths, batteries, chips), diversify sourcing, and keep strategic production within allied networks.
None of this requires America to abandon its values. It requires America to stop acting naïve.
Why Trump’s Approach Changes the Temperature
One reason the CCP has gained ground is that America often talks like a referee instead of acting like a competitor with national interests.
Trump’s political instinct—whether you like his style or not—is leverage and reciprocity. He’s less interested in polite language and more interested in outcomes: pressure, penalties, renegotiation, and walking away from bad deals. He’s also more willing to challenge the assumption that America should stay “handcuffed” in ways that let an adversary exploit our openness without paying a price.
If the United States is serious about “making America great again,” it won’t happen through slogans. It happens by facing the Chinese threat with clear eyes—and by imposing limits on a regime that routinely ignores them.
Conclusion
The pattern is clear enough to argue in court. It’s clear enough to shape national policy.
The remaining question is simple: will we act like a nation being targeted—without surrendering what makes this country worth defending?
Because the CCP is playing to win.
America needs to play to protect itself.
