By Chris Chang
TAIPEI, Taiwan, (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese economist Wu Chia-lung stated on Friday, July 24, that the US has at least ten additional ways to counteract China’s aggressive global expansion as tensions between the two countries ratchet up to the highest point in decades following consulate closures in Houston and Chengdu.
- Jointly demand compensation
The US can team up with other countries to hold China accountable for its responsibility in the global COVID-19 pandemic.
- Cancel China’s sovereign immunity
Once the US takes away China’s sovereign immunity, the Americans can then sue the Chinese government for the economic loss inflicted by the pandemic. However, some have pointed out that this approach could lead to the US facing lawsuits itself after establishing a precedent.
- Tear down China’s Great Firewall
China blocks domestic access to information from the outside world through its Great Firewall on the internet. The US can leverage Starlink — the 42,000-satellite web that the US aerospace company SpaceX plans to establish in the coming years — to allow more Chinese netizens to learn about the truth of their country.
- Destroy the linked exchange rate system in Hong Kong
Once the US cuts the supply of US dollars to Hong Kong, the latter’s foreign exchange reserves will dry out to the point that its linked exchange rate system can no longer function, causing the Hong Kong dollar to depreciate as well as the Renminbi. When this happens, foreign companies will withdraw from the Special Administrative Region with their capital.
- Exclude Hong Kong and China from the US dollar-based financial system
As the US dollar is still the most traded currency in the world, America can ban Chinese and Hong Kong banks from transferring US dollars for their clients, which will put China’s trade with other countries in jeopardy.
- Increase military operations in the South China Sea
China has its largest nuclear submarine base in Hainan’s Yalong Bay. The deep water in the South China Sea offers natural protection for China’s submarines, encouraging the communist country to take advantage of the phenomenon by building artificial islands in order to claim sovereignty over surrounding areas. The US reaction is crucial to halting China’s attempted expansion and continuing intimidation of other coastal states.
- Place an oil embargo
The US can implement an oil embargo in the South China Sea or across the Malacca Strait.
- Sanction Chinese officials
Based on the existing regulations, such as the Hong Kong Autonomy Act and the Magnitsky Act, the US should continue imposing sanctions on senior Chinese officials who violate human rights and threaten Hong Kong’s autonomy. Forbidding the members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from entering the US will also be an option.
- Abandon the “one China policy”
The US can restore diplomatic relations with Taiwan and recognize it as a country, which would be a tremendous hit to the CCP.
- Establish a new liberal world order
The US should continue rallying its allies to build a “new liberal world order” that prevents war and achieves greater prosperity for all. The country can quit current international institutions, such as the World Health Organization, and reconstruct new ones that exclude the CCP’s participation.
The same approach can be extended to the World Trade Organization and even the United Nations itself.
