Former-U.S. deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger has a must-read essay at Foreign Affairs detailing the Chinese Communist Party’s “grand strategy” to “displace American power” and “dominate a global order more suitable to Beijing’s governance model.”
And you should read the whole thing.
But I was struck by Pottinger’s singling out of how, “Important U.S. institutions, especially in finance and technology, cling to self-destructive habits acquired through decades of ‘engagement,’ an approach to China that led Washington to prioritize economic cooperation and trade above all else.”
Pottinger didn’t include “big corporations” in the mix, but his singling out of “finance” and “technology” reminded me of a Pew poll from last week showing that in just the past two years, Republicans have left massive amounts of faith in “financial institutions,” “technology companies,” and “large companies.”
The failure of each of these institutions to put U.S. interests ahead of profits from China is a huge reason Republicans now believe these institutions have a net negative effect on the country.
Just think of Nike’s CEO telling Wall Street investors that Nike is “a brand of China and for China.” This is the same company that gave America-hating Colin Kaepernick millions of dollars to help sell shoes.
Pottinger goes on to identify a number of things the federal government can do to align the incentives of banks and tech companies with the public better, including making it harder for financial institutions to invest in Chinese companies and keeping Chinese software and hardware out of domestic telecommunications networks. And most of these are good suggestions.
One institution mentioned only in passing by Pottinger (“entertainers … who benefitted from engagement”) and not at all by Pew is Hollywood. When the United States faced off against the Soviet Union during the Cold War, Hollywood was a huge asset to the cause. Think of unapologetically pro-American blockbusters such as Top Gun, Rocky IV, or Red Dawn.
Hollywood would never make movies targeting China like they did targeting Russia. Just look at Red Dawn’s failed 2012 remake, which cast North Korea in the role Russia played in the original. Or the changes Paramount made to appease China for the new Top Gun. Hollywood has become completely subservient to the Chinese Communist Party.
Executives in Los Angeles argue that they have become dependent on China’s market to turn a profit. But Hollywood is also completely dependent on the monopoly powers the federal government has gifted them through copyright laws. And Hollywood is always coming to Washington, D.C., to ask to expand and extend these copyright privileges.
Perhaps people should start asking where Hollywood’s true allegiances lie.
