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New Cold War

Senate Unveils Sweeping Legislation To Confront China

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee announced a new piece of bipartisan legislation to confront China through prioritized military spending and more arms sales in the Indo-Pacific, sanctions, money for “democracy promotion” in Hong Kong, and other areas where the US seeks to counter Beijing. The legislation still needs to go through the Committee before being introduced in the Senate, but a draft of the bill, titled the Strategic Competition Act of 2021, was released by Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), the Committee chairman. Menendez negotiated the bill with Committee Ranking Member Jim Risch (R-ID). In a release on the Committee’s website, the 281-page bill was described as the “first major proposal to bring Democrats and Republicans together in laying out a strategic approach towards Beijing...

US Escalates New Cold War As Diplomatic Gloves Come Off

The new Cold War has escalated over the past week as U.S. attempts to dominate both China and Russia backfired in embarrassing fashion for the Biden administration. Behind The Headlines’ Dan Cohen is joined by “Silk and Steel” podcast host Carl Zha to discuss the diplomatic fiasco, how U.S. intelligence and media cornered Biden into denouncing Russia, and the Quad Alliance’s political contradictions.

Biden Continues Conflict With China Through The Quad

On March 12, the heads of government of four countries, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, and US President Joe Biden, met for a virtual meeting of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, better known as the Quad. Modi’s opening remarks illustrate the emptiness of the public agenda; he called the Quad “a force for global good” with no details beyond a list of areas of collaboration (“vaccines, climate change and emerging technologies”). There was no direct mention of China during the meeting. In the details relating to the launching of “an ambitious new joint partnership that is going to boost vaccine manufacturing,” a more disturbing agenda reveals itself

After Years Of Propaganda, American Views Of Russia and China Hit Historic Lows

A new Gallup poll finds that U.S. public opinion on China and Russia has crashed to all time lows. Only 20% of Americans hold favorable views towards China. This is a remarkable decline, considering that only three years ago, the majority of the country saw the Asian giant in a positive light. The public image of Russia is barely any better, with just 22% of the country viewing the world’s largest nation in favorable terms and 77% holding unfavorable views towards the country. Negative sentiment towards Beijing has risen across the board, but Republicans are most likely to hold it in low regard, with only 10% of GOP voters seeing China positively. Among Democrats, only 27% continue to hold a very or mostly favorable opinion of the country.

Biden Announces Pentagon Task Force To Review China Policy

On Wednesday, President Biden announced a new Pentagon task force that will be reviewing the US military’s policy towards China, another sign that the new administration is prioritizing confronting Beijing. Pentagon officials said the task force is a “sprint effort” that will examine things like US troop presence in the region, intelligence, and the role of US allies and partners in countering China. Leading the task force is Ely Ratner, a China hawk who Biden appointed as a special advisor to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Before his new position at the Pentagon, Rather worked at the interventionist Center for a New American Security (CNAS) think tank.

Suspicion Of Chinese-Born Researchers Threatens US Innovation

The arrest of MIT engineering professor Gang Chen on Jan. 14 has drawn attention to the role of China in U.S. science and technology system. It’s not the first time suspicions have fallen on a Chinese-born scientist – Chen is a naturalized U.S. citizen – for work they conduct openly in the United States. The charges against Gang Chen – wire fraud, failing to report a foreign bank account and a false statement on a tax return – stem from failing to disclose Chinese funding for his research. MIT called the allegations “distressing,” and the school’s president and 100 faculty members are defending a Chinese university’s investment in MIT research. No evidence of spying has been made public, but a Department of Justice criminal complaint expressed suspicions that Chen’s loyalty may not be aligned with American interests.

Waiting For The Other Shoe To Drop

The current rationale for Washington’s South China Sea policy continues to reference history and law as a justification for reinforcing U.S. military presence in the region. Further, Washington’s reliance on a decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, not only circumvents normative interpretations of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, but uses this ruling to build cooperation among partner States to overlook the details of both China’s claim and the U.S. policy that originally recognized China’s maritime boundary. This article refutes Washington’s version of history as well as the legal claims it asserts, particularly as the US weaponizes history and law as justifications for regional military provocations that threatens the genuine security of the South China Sea, and the world.

Why America’s Economic War On China Is Failing

U.S. President Donald Trump—supported by most of the U.S. establishment—deepened the U.S. government’s assault on the Chinese economy. The “trade war” seemed to play well with Trump’s political base, who somehow hoped that an economic attack on China would miraculously create economic prosperity for them. In 2018, Trump slapped tariffs on more than $200 billion worth of various Chinese goods. Then, Trump’s administration went after Chinese high-tech firms such as Huawei, ZTE, ByteDance (the owners of TikTok), and WeChat.

Xinjiang: In-Depth Analysis And Resources

In the mid-2010s, China launched far-reaching de-radicalization and economic development programs in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Before then, few casual Western observers were even aware of the province’s existence, which makes up 17% of China’s land and whose population consists of 65% ethnic minority peoples. Fewer still could speak to the autonomous region's complex political, cultural, and religious history as well as to its complex legacies as a crossroads between diverse peoples over many centuries.

Guo Wengui – Too Anti-Chinese Even For Western Establishment

In some very rare cases, it is better to read British conservative, right-wing press, like The Economist or the Telegraph, instead of the mainstream liberal sheets like The Independent or The Guardian. That is if one wants to come somehow closer to the truth. The Economist is extremely biased; it is pre-historically conservative, anti-Russian, anti-Chinese, and laughably cold-war-style - anti-Communist. But it has some breaks and limits, which the liberal mainstream media already lost many years ago. And it does not forgive what it considers ‘bad manners’ and ‘bad taste.'

Sinophobia Inc: Understanding The Anti-China Industrial Complex

The United States’ alliance is barreling towards conflict with China. In recent months, the U.S. government has taken unprecedented steps to upend normal relations with China: sanctioning Communist Party of China officials, banning Chinese tech companies like TikTok and Huawei, interrogating and surveilling Chinese students and scientists, and even forcing the Houston Chinese consulate to close. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo calls it an end to “blind engagement” with a Chinese state he labels an existential threat to the “free world.”

US Air Force Demurs On Spy Plane Posing As Civilian Aircraft

Earlier this month, a US spy plane was observed seemingly changing its unique transponder code to disguise itself as a Malaysian civilian aircraft. While a top US Air Force leader has refused to confirm or deny the incident, swearing the US was “following the rules that day,” the claims of duplicity have been independently confirmed. At the Air Force Association's virtual Air, Space & Cyber conference on Wednesday, Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, the commander of Pacific Air Forces, refused to confirm or deny the US aircraft’s actions, but objected to the term “spoofing” being used to describe them.

A Cold War Power Play At The Inter-American Development Bank

Having launched his presidential campaign by labeling migrants from south of the U.S.-Mexico border as “rapists and criminals,” Latin America was perhaps one of the last places President Donald Trump expected to rely on as a source of steadfast friends. It thus comes as no surprise that in the new Cold War against China, Trump’s tactics in recruiting allies in Latin America have been reminiscent of the many “caudillos” that have plagued the continent in the past. The politicized impeachment of Dilma Roussef, deposing of Evo Morales, and attempted invasion of Venezuela set the backdrop to U.S. efforts to bring Latin America under U.S. influence by force. 

Wise People Know Winning A War Is No Better Than Losing One

US President Donald Trump and his ‘war council’ – led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo – have amplified their aggression against China. What began as a trade dispute in the 1990s has now escalated into the United States making an existential challenge against China. The threat against China is made not for irrational reasons, but for perfectly rational ones, which are laid out below in our Red Alert no. 9 (also available as a separate download from our website). These have to do with the emergence of China as a major economic and technological power.

Cutting Through Western Imperialist Propaganda About China, Plus A Tribute To Kevin Zeese

As US empire wanes and China's economy and global reach grow, the United States has entered a Cold War with China that includes economic warfare, military antagonism, and a misinformation campaign. Western imperialist media promote myths designed to build public opposition to China and support for this US aggression. This leaves even those on the left confused. Rarely do we hear from Chinese people who would provide clarity about their country. To fill that gap, the new Qiao Collective, composed of Chinese analysts and scholars, was created this year. We speak with collective member Elias Tchen. This is the last interview recorded before Kevin's sudden death on September 6. Ralph Nader joins Margaret in the first half of the show to remember the life and work of Kevin Zeese.

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Keep independent media alive. 

Due to the attacks on our fiscal sponsor, we were unable to raise funds online for nearly two years.  As the bills pile up, your help is needed now to cover the monthly costs of operating Popular Resistance.

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