Recently, Beijing’s retaliatory tariffs on American goods are not due to policy disagreements, but rather are part of a strategic move that goes beyond trade imbalances or soybeans; it’s about global leadership.
For decades, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has silently launched a carefully orchestrated war against America’s global leadership position. More and more Americans are realizing a fact: Communist China is not rising peacefully but rather undermining us from within, with the goal of replacing America as the world’s dominant power.
President Donald Trump’s imposition of tariffs on Chinese imports is not starting a trade war; instead, he is acknowledging the existence of a trade war. He understands what Washington elites have been unwilling to see for years: the CCP isn’t interested in fair competition but rather winning by any means necessary. Trump’s tariff actions are not just economic but strategic, a direct response to the CCP’s aggressive behavior camouflaged as diplomatic measures over the past decades.
As retaliation, the CCP has countered with new tariffs and threats, particularly highlighting its restriction on rare earth mineral exports. Rare earth minerals are crucial components in various products from smartphones to fighter jets. This is not just a trade action but a warning, showcasing that the CCP is ready to weaponize the global supply chain to weaken its competition. This is not responsible international behavior but rather a regime that sees interdependence as a tool for pressure.
For over two decades, the U.S. has given China chances, with a simple rationale: integrating China into the global economy would make China more open and law-abiding. Thus, we allowed China to join the World Trade Organization in 2001, opening up markets. We turned a blind eye to their currency manipulation, industry subsidies, and intellectual property theft amounting to billions of dollars.
And the result? U.S. industries hollowed out, factories shuttered, and small towns declined. As the U.S. economy weakened, Beijing directed its profits towards military expansion, surveillance technology, and global influence—a plan long in the making, not by chance.
Trump’s tariff policies have shifted the course, making the CCP feel pressure for the first time in years. The tariffs prompted U.S. businesses to reconsider their blind reliance on Chinese supply chains, revealing risks of dealing with a country that only plays by its own rules. Most importantly, the tariffs uncovered the lie that defined global trade for two decades: Beijing is a trustworthy partner.
But China is now proving otherwise.
Beijing isn’t throwing a tantrum out of hurt feelings; it’s because Trump’s policies directly hit one of the CCP’s most potent weapons: economic coercion. The tariffs disrupted China’s playbook, giving the U.S. initiative back, slowing down China’s economy, and depleting foreign investments—a reality Beijing is well aware of.
Now, the cornered CCP is showing its teeth, trying to force Washington’s submission using trade barriers, propaganda, and resource coercion, even attempting to build a global anti-Trump alliance.
The CCP’s ambitions extend beyond tariffs, constructing military bases in international waters, acquiring ports and farmland, exporting authoritarian surveillance technology, and tightening control over global institutions. This is not by chance but a comprehensive effort to reshape the global order, placing Beijing at the forefront and marginalizing Washington.
The U.S. cannot revert to failed appeasement strategies. Every time we engage with China without considering consequences, the CCP grows stronger. Every time we prioritize cheap goods over national security, we lose leverage—not just a theoretical issue; this pertains to whether the 21st century will be led by a free and independent America or by an authoritarian regime seeking to control others.
We must follow through with what Trump has started, requiring us to maintain and expand tariffs on Chinese industries, ensure the security of critical supply chains, especially in rare earth minerals and technology fields. This means restricting China’s access to the U.S. market when they violate trade rules or pose threats to national security. It means defending Taiwan, remaining firm even when Wall Street, multinational CEOs, and foreign lobbyists express discontent.
This is not isolation but independence; this is breaking free from a dangerous dependence on a regime that blatantly uses economic ties as weapons.
The CCP’s retaliation isn’t the end of a trade dispute but the beginning of settling scores. We either confront this threat or watch America’s leadership position erode in successive concessions.
[Note: Author’s information and original publication details have been omitted for brevity.]