What observers call a trade war is, for Trump, simply part of a larger war—in the Middle East, in South America, in Ukraine—against an entire axis
Lee Smith
Shortly after October 7, 2023, Israeli forces sorting through the remains of the 1,200 people killed during the deadliest attack on Israel since the 1973 Yom Kippur war recovered drones that Hamas and other Iranian proxies had used to target Israeli civilians. Officials found that the unmanned aerial vehicles contained multiple U.S.-origin electronic components, and further investigation showed that these parts had been procured by Chinese firms then transferred to Iranian front companies, which in turn passed them on to Hamas. The Iranians distributed U.S.-made technology bought by the Chinese to other proxies as well, including the Houthi rebels, who used them to target U.S. and allied shipping.
Although people don’t readily make the connection, this episode from the Middle East throws into sharp relief the nature of the U.S.-China power competition. Indeed, though observers like to frame President Donald Trump’s policy on China narrowly as a trade war, tariffs and other economic measures are simply instruments the White House is deploying in a larger war against the China axis. It’s a conflict fought at home and abroad that has ramifications for U.S. foreign and domestic policy. Supplying Ukraine to defend itself against Russia is part of Trump’s campaign against the China axis. Targeting Venezuelan drug cartels, shutting down fentanyl shipments, and supporting allies like Argentina’s President Javier Milei to stand firm against Chinese encroachment into Latin American are as much a part of the campaign as Trump’s China tariffs. Campaigns against China, Russia, Venezuela, Iran and its proxies have dominated the U.S. news cycle the last year because the Trump administration sees the China axis as the most dangerous threat to our national security. It’s all about China.
Sadly, certain cohorts of Americans, including many under 30, can’t perceive this—for a very good reason: The reckless and deracinated foreign policies of the last several administrations have made it impossible for Americans to understand the purpose of foreign policy—including most significantly the nature of our alliance system—because successive White Houses before Trump have subverted the national interest by rewarding our adversaries at the expense not only of our allies but of America itself. In fact, that bug became a feature in the system that Trump is trying to fix.
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