According to recent reporting, “More than 500,000 Tibetans have been transferred to Chinese training centers since the beginning of 2020, as an existing mass labor initiative expanded in the region.” See Emily Czachor, “15 Percent of Tibet’s Population Transferred to Chinese Training Centers as Mass Labor Program Expands,” Newsweek, September 22. 2020, https://www.newsweek.com/15-percent-tibets-population-transferred-chinese-training-centers-mass-labor-program-expands-1533579.
16 Antonio Graceffo, “China’s Crackdown on Mongolian Culture,” The Diplomat, September 4, 2020, https://thediplomat.com/2020/09/chinas-crackdown-on-mongolian-culture/.
17 Lily Kuo, “In China, They’re Closing Churches, Jailing Pastors – and even Rewriting Scripture,” Guardian, January 13, 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/13/china-christians-religious-persecution-translation-bible; and Matthew Taylor King, “The Gospel According to Xi,” opinion, Wall Street Journal, June 4, 2020, https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-gospel-according-to-xi-11591310956.
18 Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo, “PRC National People’s Congress Proposal on Hong Kong National Security Legislation,” press statement, May 27, 2020, https://www.state.gov/prc-national-peoples-congress-proposal-on-hong-kong-national-security-legislation/; “On Beijing’s Imposition of National Security Legislation on Hong Kong,” June 30, 2020, https://www.state.gov/on-beijings-imposition-of-national-security-legislation-on-hong-kong/; and “On the President’s Announcement on Hong Kong,” press statement, July 15, 2020, https://www.state.gov/on-the-presidents-announcement-on-hong-kong/.
19 Office of the Secretary of Defense, Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China: 2019, annual report to Congress, U.S. Department of Defense, May 2019, p. 83, https://media.defense.gov/2019/May/02/2002127082/-1/-1/1/2019_CHINA_MILITARY_POWER_REPORT.pdf.
20 Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo, “U.S. Position on Maritime Claims in the South China Sea,” press statement, July 13, 2020, https://www.state.gov/u-s-position-on-maritime-claims-in-the-south-china-sea/; and “U.S. Imposes Restrictions on Certain PRC State-Owned Enterprises and Executives for Malign Activities in the South China Sea,” press statement, August 26, 2020, https://www.state.gov/u-s-imposes-restrictions-on-certain-prc-state-owned-enterprises-and-executives-for-malign-activities-in-the-south-china-sea/.
21 Odd Arne Westad, Restless Empire: China and the World Since 1750 (New York, NY: Basic Books, 2012), pp. 20-44.
22 Washington and Beijing have the two largest national economies, with U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) at $21 trillion in nominal terms and Chinese GDP at $14 trillion. Their annual trade in goods and services is massive – $737.1 billion in 2018 — but asymmetrical: the U.S. Trade Representative reports the United States had a $378.6 billion trade deficit with China in 2018, exporting $179.3 billion in goods and services while importing $557.9 billion. See Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, “The People’s Republic of China: Overview,” accessed May 4, 2020, https://ustr.gov/countries-regions/china-mongolia-taiwan/peoples-republic-china.
23 Beijing uses cyberattacks, theft, and other methods to target key technological and economic sectors in various U.S. states, and transfer to China valuable data, information, and technology. For examples, see U.S. Department of Justice, “Harvard University Professor and Two Chinese Nationals Charged in Three Separate China Related Cases,” press release, January 28, 2020, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/harvard-university-professor-and-two-chinese-nationals-charged-three-separate-china-related; “Chinese Telecommunications Device Manufacturer and its U.S. Affiliate Indicted for Theft of Trade Secrets, Wire Fraud, and Obstruction of Justice,” press release, January 28, 2019, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/chinese-telecommunications-device-manufacturer-and-its-us-affiliate-indicted-theft-trade; “PRC State-Owned Company, Taiwan Company, and Three Individuals Charged with Economic Espionage,” press release, November 1, 2018, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/prc-state-owned-company-taiwan-company-and-three-individuals-charged-economic-espionage;
