American Sinophobia

As America's Sinophobia has become increasingly bipartisan, fear is starting to take on the aura of fact, and the dangers of accidental conflict with China are intensifying. Worse, by acting on these anxieties, the US risks inciting the very outcome it wants to deter: Chinese aggression against Taiwan. China's national technology champion, the market leader in developing new 5G telecommunications equipment, was accused of deploying digital backdoors that could enable Chinese espionage and cyber-attacks. The US has since spiraled into a full-blown outbreak of Sinophobia - a strong word that I don't use lightly. China threats now seem to be popping up everywhere. The Department of Justice has just indicted a state-sponsored Chinese hacking group for allegedly taking aim at critical American infrastructure. Much has also been made of the purported risks of Chinese electric vehicles, construction and dock-loading cranes, and now TikTok.