DSA International Committee condemns the Sinophobia and the push for a Cold War with China encouraged by the United States
Democratic Socialists of America’s International Committee (DSA IC) condemns in strongest terms the Sinophobia and the push for a Cold War with the People’s Republic of China that have been encouraged by United States political elites.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, former President Donald Trump blamed China for the spread of the virus and encouraged discrimination against Chinese citizens and Chinese Americans. In this atmosphere of increased Sinophobia, Joe Biden accused the Trump administration of being insufficiently tough on China during the 2020 presidential campaign, calling it the “most serious competitor” to the United States in a speech to the US Department of State. Further adding to this ongoing crisis, US media and political elites regularly discuss the prospects of a “cold war” between US and China with little regard to the likely human toll of such a conflict.
To talk of preparing for a US-China Cold War is unconscionable when the US is engaging in a trade war against China that is causing economic distress for millions. It is also criminal when the US is selling arms, running joint military exercises, and setting up overseas US military bases in countries surrounding China. These actions put the lives of hundreds of millions of people at risk within the region. Most importantly, the jingoistic rhetoric that informs the coverage of COVID-19 and US-China relations covers up the responsibility that US elites bear for profit-seeking imperialism, an increase in Sinophobic discrimination worldwide—particularly from US and its allies—and hate crimes against Asian Americans, and the lack of social welfare policies that has immiserated millions in the US during the ongoing pandemic and economic depression.
DSA IC denounces the Sinophobic rhetoric and the push for a US-China conflict from the US leadership, and instead calls for greater cooperation between the US and China to tackle global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.