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A senior Chinese military official, Maj. Gen. Zhu Chenghu, said at a an official briefing on July 14: "If the Americans draw their missiles and position-guided ammunition on to the target zone on China's territory, I think we will have to respond with nuclear weapons." He was referring to U.S. military intervention in any conflict over Taiwan, which the Communist Chinese consider part of China's territory. President Bush has made clear that the United States will defend Taiwan. General Zhu said that his comments reflected his personal views, and it might seem ridiculous to think that China might attack the U.S. with nuclear weapons. Speaking in perfect English, Gen. Zhu explained the rationale for using the nuclear option: "War logic dictates that a weaker power needs to use maximum efforts to defeat a stronger rival. We have no capability to fight a conventional [non-nuclear] war against the United States. We can't win this kind of war." Also in July, China National Offshore Oil Co. (CNOOC) made an $18.5 billion all-cash bid to acquire Unocal, one of America's oldest oil companies. That is about $2 billion more than a Chevron Corp bid. CNOOC is 70% owned by the Chinese government and its top executive was appointed by the Communist Party. CNOOC then rolled out an advertising campaign with ads to appear in Congressional Quarterly, National Journal and Roll Call. CNOOC hired one of the biggest legal-lobbying firms in Washington, Akin Gump, to lobby Congress for approval of the takeover. CNOOC's attempt to take over California-based Unocal threatens U.S. security and would give China political leverage in areas where the oil company has resources. Rep. Duncan Hunter, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said, "The simple fact is that energy is a strategic commodity" and Unocal's holdings "represent strategic assets that affect U.S. national security." Former CIA Director James Woolsey said that to accept the CNOOC deal would be "extraordinarily naive." Some American businessmen and politicians naively believe that China's rapid economic growth is a good thing because it will bring about political reform, democracy, and peace between nations. But that isn't what is happening in China. The Chinese bosses are moving Communism to fascism rather than democracy by using capitalist technology, investment, and the nearly trillion dollars in wealth they have pocketed from the profits of selling their exports to us. The same Communist bosses are still in power, and they look upon the United States as their "main enemy." Last year, China ran a trade surplus with us of $162 billion, and since 1995 the cumulative U.S. trade deficit with China is nearly $900 billion. This enormous amount of U.S. cash enables China to build up its military and to buy U.S. strategic properties. President Ronald Reagan won the Cold War without firing a shot by cutting off the Soviet Union from outside sources of capital, technology and trade until the Soviet Union collapsed. Our trade policy should not be allowed to increase the capabilities of our enemies to threaten us. |
