Sinophobia in the US is off the rails and blocking paths to progress
- Myths and exaggerated claims about China are pervasive in American political discourse, with growing anxieties about technology and trade
- Instead of focusing on self-reflection, politicians adopt an aggressive stance on China out of expediency but risk inciting accidental conflict
But Huawei was just the start. The US has since spiralled into a full-blown outbreak of Sinophobia – a strong word that I don’t use lightly. The Oxford English Dictionary defines phobia as an “extreme or irrational fear or dread aroused by a particular object or circumstance”.
Of course, this is only half the story. China is equally guilty of its own strain of “Ameri-phobia” – demonising the US for its accusations of Chinese economic espionage, unfair trading practices and human rights violations. Both phobias are related to the profusion of false narratives that I address in my most recent book, Accidental Conflict.
Notwithstanding this tit-for-tat blame game, my point now is different: there is good reason to worry about an increasingly virulent strain of this phobia spinning out of control in the US.
Not since the red-baiting of the early 1950s has America so vilified a foreign power. Back then, a two-pronged congressional approach, led by US Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin and the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), spearheaded an assault on alleged Communist sympathisers under the guise of protecting Americans from Soviet espionage and influence.
The litany of US allegations is a manifestation of unproven fears wrapped in the impenetrable cloak of national security. Yet there is no “smoking gun” in any of these cases. Instead, it is all about circumstantial evidence of an increasingly aggressive China. At work is an unmistakable bipartisan politicisation of deductive reasoning.
A former US counter-intelligence officer has compared sensors in Chinese-made cranes to a Trojan horse. There are many “what ifs” and mythical parallels, but no hard evidence on intent or verifiable action.
Excessive fear of China conveniently masks many of America’s own self-inflicted problems. Bilateral trade deficits may well reflect the unfair trading practices of individual countries – China today, Japan 35 years ago – but broad multilateral trade deficits stem more from chronic US budget deficits that lead to a deficiency of domestic saving.
As Sinophobia feeds on itself, fear starts to take on the aura of fact and the dangers of accidental conflict with China intensify. By acting on these anxieties, America risks inciting the very outcome it wants to deter.
The US can and must do better. Rather than excusing the excesses of Sinophobia as justifiable reactions to the China threat, US leaders need to think more in terms of being the adult in the room. Global leadership requires nothing less.