Derek Scissors critiques the American government’s approach to Chinese economic developments.
The Wall Street Journal this month caught up with President Trump’s softness on China, only six years late. The President’s long-standing chase for China deals has pushed the US to avoid hard choices, only to get burned later. The Trump administration hiked tariffs right away, then caved because they didn’t even see vulnerability on rare-earth magnets. There are other glaring blind spots now, starting with land versus pharma.
Somehow Chinese land ownership here may have become the Sino-American issue most discussed outside the beltway. The PRC shouldn’t be allowed to own land near military sites or large amounts of farmland. But it hasn’t, doesn’t, and won’t. Many politicians around the country loudly trumpet solutions to what is currently a minor problem. No harm, no foul? When we simultaneously shy away from much tougher issues, there’s harm.
A mainstay issue being suspiciously soft-played is pharmaceuticals. Our industry is dangerously dependent on China and companies are actively trying to make it worse. Dependence on some Chinese drugs and ingredients for drugs has been recognized since at least 2017. Less recognized is that the leading source of our imports is European nations, now topped by Ireland, which are themselves facing China dependence.
The top pharmaceutical companies are bent on slow suicide. They are pouring billions into drug development in China, for American and global use, increasing our reliance further. They’re feeding future competitors for the sake of near-term profit, sacrificing the long-term viability of their companies, not to mention the national interest. The outcome of such commercial engagement with the PRC is obvious; they’re ignoring it.
A year ago, the Trump administration wisely opened what was supposed to be a national security investigation (Section 232) into pharmaceuticals. The result announced earlier this month is comically bad.
