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> Today, US policymakers see China as the main adversary. That is not evident at all in how any US policymaker acts these days. China is stronger than ever, pr

> Today, US policymakers see China as the main adversary. That is not evident at all in how any US policymaker acts these days. China is stronger than ever, precisely due to US actions. Every day, the US gives up power and throws it away, and China picks it up off the ground for free. The supposed "China Hawks" are all chicken hawks without anything to back them up.

bluGill 9mo ago
There is not one single person here. A number see China as the biggest problem and act that way. A number don't, and act that way. The combined looks like a 'chicken hawk' policy though
- epistasis 9mo ago
  There is a US policy though, and none of the supposed China Hawks have even voiced a "kee-ahh" in response to US policy empowering and elevating Chinese power. Way back in September last year, which feels like forever ago, there was this good summary from Politico: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/05/pentagon-national-defense-strategy-china-homeland-western-hemisphere-00546310 https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/05/pentagon-national-d... > Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s policy chief, is leading the strategy. He played a key role in writing the 2018 version during Trump’s first term and has been a staunch supporter of a more isolationist American policy. Despite his long track record as a China hawk, Colby aligns with Vice President JD Vance on the desire to disentangle the U.S. from foreign commitments. A supposed "China Hawk" is the one writing the policy that hands power to China! Calling them "frauds" is fully appropriate, and even though the author admits he dashed this off in a single day, I find it quite convincing: https://secretaryrofdefenserock.substack.com/p/the-final-evolution-of-the-gop-china https://secretaryrofdefenserock.substack.com/p/the-final-evo...
FuriouslyAdrift 9mo ago
The ODNI Threat Assesment is the only official stance and is apolitical. China has been top of the list for nation-state threats for more than a decade. https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/reports-publications/reports-publications-2025/4058-2025-annual-threat-assessment https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/reports-publications/...
- epistasis 9mo ago
  The intelligence community are not US policy makers, and that threat assessment is not policy. The US intelligence community is correct in its assessment, but US policy is not acting in any way consistent with both the US being the dominant world power and taking that ODNI assessment seriously. Current US policy makers are instead trying to hide in their shell like a turtle, and greatly restrict US power so that it must not confront or deal with the threat from China.
- epistasis 9mo ago
  I'm coming back to this a few days later because the official new Pentagon policy deprioritizes China: > The National Defense Strategy — a dramatic shift from even the first Trump administration — no longer focuses primarily on countering China. Instead, it blames past administrations for ignoring American interests and jeopardizing the U.S. military’s access to the Panama Canal and Greenland. https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/23/pentagon-national-defense-strategy-00745499 https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/23/pentagon-national-d... Edit: big news day for China Hawks proving to be frauds, this is from the WSJ Trump Administration Pushes Out Key Officials Focused on China Tech Threat Departing staffers worked for a Commerce Department office charged with protecting the U.S. from Chinese technological advances https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/trump-administration-pushes-out-key-officials-focused-on-china-tech-threat-cd2dde3f https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/trump-adminis...
  - FuriouslyAdrift 9mo ago
    We've moved from defensive posture to active "grey zone" warfare... https://www.aei.org/op-eds/economic-defense-unit-how-the-u-s-military-wins-in-the-gray-zone/ https://www.aei.org/op-eds/economic-defense-unit-how-the-u-s...

bluGill 9mo ago

There is not one single person here. A number see China as the biggest problem and act that way. A number don't, and act that way. The combined looks like a 'chicken hawk' policy though

epistasis 9mo ago
There is a US policy though, and none of the supposed China Hawks have even voiced a "kee-ahh" in response to US policy empowering and elevating Chinese power. Way back in September last year, which feels like forever ago, there was this good summary from Politico: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/05/pentagon-national-defense-strategy-china-homeland-western-hemisphere-00546310 https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/05/pentagon-national-d... > Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s policy chief, is leading the strategy. He played a key role in writing the 2018 version during Trump’s first term and has been a staunch supporter of a more isolationist American policy. Despite his long track record as a China hawk, Colby aligns with Vice President JD Vance on the desire to disentangle the U.S. from foreign commitments. A supposed "China Hawk" is the one writing the policy that hands power to China! Calling them "frauds" is fully appropriate, and even though the author admits he dashed this off in a single day, I find it quite convincing: https://secretaryrofdefenserock.substack.com/p/the-final-evolution-of-the-gop-china https://secretaryrofdefenserock.substack.com/p/the-final-evo...

FuriouslyAdrift 9mo ago

The ODNI Threat Assesment is the only official stance and is apolitical. China has been top of the list for nation-state threats for more than a decade. https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/reports-publications/reports-publications-2025/4058-2025-annual-threat-assessment https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/reports-publications/...

epistasis 9mo ago
The intelligence community are not US policy makers, and that threat assessment is not policy. The US intelligence community is correct in its assessment, but US policy is not acting in any way consistent with both the US being the dominant world power and taking that ODNI assessment seriously. Current US policy makers are instead trying to hide in their shell like a turtle, and greatly restrict US power so that it must not confront or deal with the threat from China.
epistasis 9mo ago
I'm coming back to this a few days later because the official new Pentagon policy deprioritizes China: > The National Defense Strategy — a dramatic shift from even the first Trump administration — no longer focuses primarily on countering China. Instead, it blames past administrations for ignoring American interests and jeopardizing the U.S. military’s access to the Panama Canal and Greenland. https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/23/pentagon-national-defense-strategy-00745499 https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/23/pentagon-national-d... Edit: big news day for China Hawks proving to be frauds, this is from the WSJ Trump Administration Pushes Out Key Officials Focused on China Tech Threat Departing staffers worked for a Commerce Department office charged with protecting the U.S. from Chinese technological advances https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/trump-administration-pushes-out-key-officials-focused-on-china-tech-threat-cd2dde3f https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/trump-adminis...
- FuriouslyAdrift 9mo ago
  We've moved from defensive posture to active "grey zone" warfare... https://www.aei.org/op-eds/economic-defense-unit-how-the-u-s-military-wins-in-the-gray-zone/ https://www.aei.org/op-eds/economic-defense-unit-how-the-u-s...