Xi Is Preparing for Conflict. America Must End Its Dependence On China.

When President Trump met with Xi Jinping in Washington, a disturbing warning hung over the visit. China expert Gordon Chang recently told Fox News that Xi is preparing China’s military and civilian society “for battle,” even as Americans continue to assume that the two countries are at peace.

The United States cannot afford to ignore that warning. Decades of economic dependence have left America vulnerable to a hostile Chinese Communist Party. China holds an alarming position in supply chains involving medicines, critical minerals, electronics, batteries, and other goods essential to American industry and national defense. If Beijing moved against Taiwan or entered a wider confrontation with the United States, those dependencies could become economic weapons overnight.

This vulnerability did not develop by accident. President Nixon opened relations with China primarily to gain leverage against the Soviet Union. Later administrations transformed that limited strategic opening into a much broader policy of economic engagement. Washington welcomed China into the World Trade Organization and assumed that trade and prosperity would make the communist regime more peaceful, open, and free. Instead, American markets, capital, and technology helped China become a global economic and military power while the CCP retained its authoritarian system.  

In the past decade, Chinese investors have completed more than $190 billion in major American acquisitions and development projects. Much of that activity involved Chinese government entities or companies with state connections.

The Biden administration retained some tariffs and imposed targeted technology restrictions, but its limited “de-risking” approach never matched the scale of the threat. Its energy policies also increased American demand for batteries, minerals, and components from supply chains heavily influenced by China.

President Trump deserves credit for taking a stronger position through tariffs, investment scrutiny, technology restrictions, and support for American manufacturing. But these measures must be the beginning of a sustained strategy, not bargaining chips exchanged for temporary trade concessions.

America must move critical medical, technological, energy, and defense supply chains out of China; restrict Beijing’s access to sensitive technology and data; rebuild domestic production; and coordinate with trusted allies. The goal is not to seek war. It is to ensure that if China chooses confrontation, Beijing cannot exploit American dependence to cripple our economy or weaken our ability to respond.