The editorial pages of the New York Times, as opposed to the news pages, have been remarkably uninformed and downright naive about China. They have published a column by Bret Stephens arguing that the United States should be more “magnanimous” toward poor China and an op ed by an opera singer talking about how we need to listen better to Chinese individuals. She sang to Chinese people during a recent trip there and felt connected. How touching.
So it’s something of a surprise today to see Ross Douthat writing a column entitled, “Why We Should Fear China Most.” See it here. In it, he asks the question that I asked two days ago about President Biden’s dramatic speech–why did the president mention only Moscow and Tehran as being bad actors when both of them depend in different ways on Chinese support? (I’m not suggesting Douthat saw my posting. I have no evidence of that.)
In his piece, Douthat noted “the specific absence of any reference to China as a potentially more significant threat than Russia or Iran” in Biden’s speech.
He adds: “It makes sense to talk about China, Iran and Russia as a loose alliance trying to undermine American power, but it is not a trio of equals. Only China is an arguable peer of the United States, only China’s technological and industrial might can hope to match our own, and only China has the capacity to project power globally as well as regionally.” Well said. His colleagues should start paying more attention, rather than living in their dream worlds.
