China syndromeHomeland Security and the China Challenge

Published 28 December 2020

On 21 December, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad F. Wolf delivered remarks at a virtual event hosted by the Heritage Foundation detailing the enduring threat from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and DHS’s strategy to confront it. “Today, the threats to our peace and prosperity emanate largely from China,” Wolf said. “The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) picked up the mantle of Communist ideology and has adapted it to our times. Today, the ideology that fueled the Soviet Union is alive and well in China.”

On 21 December, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad F. Wolf delivered remarks at a virtual event hosted by the Heritage Foundation detailing the enduring threat from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and DHS’s strategy to confront it.

In his remarks, the Acting Secretary outlined a number of steps the Department is currently undertaking to combat Chinese aggression. Among these, DHS is taking bold action to prevent Chinese students, journalists, and Communist Party members from exploiting our immigration system. U.S. Customs and Border Protection is continuing to detain goods produced with forced labor in the Xinjiang region, and the Department will be issuing a business advisory cautioning against using data services and equipment from firms linked to the PRC.

The Acting Secretary also announced a forthcoming DHS “Strategic Action Plan to Counter the People’s Republic of China,” an innovative document that builds on President Trump’s 2017 National Security Strategy and the 2020 U.S. Strategic Approach to the People’s Republic of China.

Here are Wolf’s remarks:

Our founders had a powerful vision for this nation. To be a bastion of freedom, a shining “city upon a hill,” and a beacon of hope to those suffering across the world—including those fleeing oppressive, authoritarian regimes.

The United States has tirelessly pursued that vision—from correcting the gravest injustices within our borders to defeating tyrants, terrorists, and oppressors around the world.

America’s global leadership delivered our victory in the Cold War. The fall of the Soviet Union—one of the greatest moral triumphs in American history—ushered in an unprecedented period of freedom, peace, and prosperity.

But as we reveled in the afterglow of our Cold War victory, Communist leaders in Beijing were biding their time, learning from the mistakes of others, and preparing to mount a civilizational challenge to America.

Today, the threats to our peace and prosperity emanate largely from China.

To be clear, when I describe the threat from China, I am speaking of the leaders in Beijing—not the Chinese people who suffer under the oppression and authoritarianism of their own government.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) picked up the mantle of Communist ideology and has adapted it to our times. Today, the ideology that fueled the Soviet Union is alive and well in China.