China’s dictator, President Xi Jinping, aspires to transform his country into the world’s supreme power, a goal he calls “the China Dream.” To that end, Xi has been exploiting the chaos, fear and ruin of the coronavirus pandemic to try to advance an agenda that would place China at the center of a new global order. Xi’s aim is a world in which his totalitarian Chinese Communist Party, bolstered by his aggressively modernizing military, sets the norms and calls the shots.
The good news is that Americans are waking up to the reality that Xi’s dream is, in practice, a nightmare — not only for the people of China, but for the world. This recognition comes not a moment too soon. It is vital to devise strategies to defend not only our health, but our freedom.