America's Future Update on China

Update on China's Stunning Increase in Military Power

China's nuclear submarines are altering the strategic balance of the world. China's expanding undersea fleet bolsters China's nuclear arsenal and enhances China's capacity to enforce its ter­ritorial claims.

China passed a big milestone when it sent out to sea a new sub called a "boomer," which is a submarine fully armed with nuclear missiles. These boomers' missiles have the range to hit Hawaii and Alaska from East Asia and to hit continental U.S. from the mid-Pacific. U.S. strat­egists see this new development as enhancing China's capacity to enforce its territorial claims and to thwart U.S. intervention. China's boomer subs are part of a strategy to prevent the U.S. from intervening in any conflict over Taiwan, Japan or the Philip­pines. Wall Street Journal, 10-14-14

China's military upstaged the Asian economic summit in Beijing, where President Obama was meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, by demonstrating its new radar-evading fighter jet at an arms show in the Chinese city of Zhuhai. China built the J-31 by using the design for the latest American stealth fighter, the F-35, which the Chinese stole through cyber espionage when they hacked into the computer of a U.S. defense subcontractor and downloaded terabytes of data. - Bill Gertz, Washington Free Beacon, 11-11-14; Wall Street Journal, 11-12-14

Update on China's Purchases in the U.S.

A Communist Chinese insur­ance company bought New York's iconic Waldorf Astoria Hotel on Oct. 6. Terms of the sale allow "a major renovation," which raises eyebrows in Washington because of fears of Chinese eavesdropping and cyber espionage.

The U.S. government has long used the Waldorf for many impor­tant guests, including the president and hundreds of U.S. diplomats during the annual U.N. General Assembly meeting. The Waldorf is the home of the American Ambas­sador to the United Nations.

The Waldorf could become subject to our State Department's travel advice for China, which reads: "Hotel rooms (including meeting rooms), offices, cars, taxis, telephones, internet usage, and fax machines may be monitored on site or remotely, and personal possessions in hotel rooms, including computers may be searched without your consent or knowledge. Business travelers should be particularly mindful that trade secrets, negotiating positions and other business-sensitive information may be taken and shared with local interests." Associated Press, 10-13-14

Update on Job Loss for Americans Due to China

An estimated 2.4 million jobs were lost in the seven-year period ending in 2008 due to our nation's dependence on Chinese products, according to a study by a Wash­ington think tank, Economic Policy Institute. North Carolina lost 2.3 percent (95,100 jobs) of its overall workforce during that period. The study concluded that the hardest-hit areas were in computer and electronic parts, apparel, and du­rable goods manufacturing.

James Copland, an executive with Copland Fabrics, said he is not surprised by these findings. He said there are fewer jobs avail­able in North Carolina than there were 15 years ago, and that is a direct result of U.S. dependence on China and that country's unfair trade practices. He added: "This entire recession that we are having is very much tied to China. The reason why people are defaulting on their mortgage payments is because they don't have jobs. In turn, the reason they don't have jobs is because these have gone to China." Copland added that there cannot be free trade with a country that controls or owns most of its companies and dictates how market forces will operate. "China is still a Communist country. We should not be allowing unfettered trade access to these countries."

Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) said, "This is like a Mafia operation... Fundamentally, the Chinese gov­ernment is a corrupt government." Washington Free Beacon, 5-20-14