Well-known Chinese news site Sina (NASDQ: SINA) recently republished an article published under Global Times’ official social media account, analyzing U.S. Senator Tom Cotton’s new report called “Beat China.” The article labeled Senator Cotton as a “Trump enthusiast,” a “right-wing extremist,” an “anti-China extremist,” a “daydreamer” and a “liar.” It called Cotton’s latest “Beat China” report a plan to “screw up China big time,” to start an economic cold war no smaller than the cold war against the Soviet Union, and to decouple the U.S. completely from China. The Cotton Report focused on two major topics: one is how to decouple and beat China to the ground and the second is how to minimize the damage to the U.S. in this war. In the first part, Cotton suggested further tightening up high-tech exports to China from the U.S. and U.S. allies, while also cutting off research cooperation with China as well as talent exchanges. Cotton also called for a significant reduction in U.S. dependency on Chinese rare earths. In the second part of the Report In the second part Cotton called for damage control. He called for developing new markets for U.S. products and forming a new anti-China trade alliance. In the meantime, the U.S. should act to “retake” control of international organizations like the WTO, or create new ones. Global Times thinks this whole narrative is just “wishful thinking.” However, it is worth noting that even some U.S. media and influential individuals on the left thought Cotton had some points “worth considering.” The Global Times article described Tom Cotton as “setting himself up as a 2024 presidential candidate.”
Sources:
1. Sina, February 20, 2021
https://finance.sina.com.cn/world/gjcj/2021-02-20/doc-ikftpnny8611704.shtml
2. Beat China: Targeted Decoupling and the Economic Long War Prepared by the Office of
Senator Tom Cotton
https://www.cotton.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/210216_1700_China%20Report_FINAL.pdf