When the news broke that President Donald Trump was going to give a speech on Thursday, some assumed Iran would be the focus. Instead, the president revealed that the Chinese government stole millions of voter records in 2020. While this isn’t as big a deal as Trump thinks it is, the truth is that China is a threat to the United States. Hopefully, Thursday’s speech is the start of recognizing that.
In his big speech on Thursday, Trump revealed that back in 2020, the Chinese Communist Party stole hundreds of millions of American voter profiles. Trump cited this as evidence for why Congress needs to pass the SAVE America Act. Election integrity is important, but the truth is that the stolen voter files are not as big of a deal as Trump says they are. Voter files are already public record, so the CCP doesn’t have anything that isn’t readily available. In addition, the president failed to prove his long-held belief that the 2020 election was stolen from him.
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The source of Trump’s anger may be off, but he is right in where he is directing that anger. For starters, there are other ways China is engaging in espionage against the U.S. The theft of intellectual property costs American companies billions of dollars. Everything from private companies to military contractors is a victim of Chinese theft.
Corporate America is not the only one subject to spying; private citizens are also victims in China’s international spy game. Millions of the public have their data stolen via Chinese-owned app TikTok. Users may laugh it off by saying the U.S. government spies on them, too, so what’s the difference if China does it too? However, TikTok poses a threat to national security because personal data could be used to pressure anyone with access into divulging secrets to the CCP. In addition, as an adversary of the U.S., China can use TikTok to influence and divide public opinion.
It isn’t just our data that are at risk but our safety and freedom as well. Across the world, the CCP spies on or intimidates activists and diaspora communities in what is called transnational repression. A police officer in New York City, for example, was arrested after spying on Tibetans living in the city. Spying is the least of our worries, as TNR operations often include coercing dissidents into returning to China, where oppression awaits. Even if they don’t return, dissident groups are subject to attacks by pro-CCP operatives at rallies or protests. Freedom of speech is a core part of America’s identity; it must be protected from external actors such as the CCP.
China doesn’t just spy on Americans; they provide support to enemies who kill Americans. In the U.S.’s war with Iran, rumors popped up that China planned to ship weapons to the Iranians. The plan was to ship the weapons through Intermediary countries, thereby obscuring China’s role in the smuggling. Although China denies these reports, it is still aiding the Iranian war effort through other means. It supplies dual-use materials for things such as missiles, as well as GPS data that Iran uses in missile strikes on U.S. bases in the Middle East.
So, how should the U.S. and Trump specifically respond to this? The U.S. government needs to take steps to protect people from the threat of Chinese espionage. The most practical step is fully enforcing the TikTok Ban, a law Congress passed and the Supreme Court upheld. TikTok is technically majority owned by American firms, but ByteDance (a Chinese company) is still a minority owner. To fully protect the country’s national security, Trump needs to force ByteDance to divest its remaining ownership of TikTok.
Finally, the U.S. needs to take Taiwan’s defense more seriously. Taiwan’s de facto independence is an issue that concerns more than the 23 million citizens of the island. The U.S. defense industry relies on Taiwan for the production of advanced microchips, 90% of which are produced on the island. While the U.S. is making efforts to move chip production to its shores, it will be years before U.S. production will even make a dent in Taiwan’s production output.
If China conquers Taiwan, the U.S. economy and military will be completely cut off from the chips modern technology depends on. To secure Taiwan against CCP threats, the U.S. needs to burn down the backlog of already approved sales of military equipment. The most recent estimates value the backlog at over $30 billion. To deter Beijing’s aggression, deliveries to Taiwan need to be sped up.
Contrast how we should be responding with what is actually happening. In the aftermath of Trump’s speech, one would expect a tougher approach on China, but his decision to lift sanctions on Hong Kong officials is a puzzling response. If China is compromising our elections, as he says, then why are we eliminating sanctions?
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Moreover, the issue of student visas is another where Trump is taking a surprisingly conciliatory approach. Despite the espionage concerns, Trump is willing to allow more than half a million Chinese students to study in the U.S. To be fair, most of them are not spies and should not be stopped from studying here. However, the State Department needs to scrutinize visa applicants more carefully to detect students with close ties to the CCP.
China is a geopolitical threat to the U.S., but not for the reasons Trump outlined in his speech. The Chinese Communist Party threatens America’s security through espionage at home and supporting adversaries abroad. If Trump wants to secure the U.S. against China, he needs to take action against the CCP.
Matt Cookson is a supply chain professional in the defense industry. His writing has appeared in The Daily Wire, Washington Times, Daily Signal, and RealClearPolitics. Follow him on X @MattCookson95
