Posted on 04/03/2020 6:54:10 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads worldwide, it continues disrupting the lives of everyone in China, the United States, and most other nations. Since I spent years in the film industry working closely with China, and am set to release my book, “Feeding the Dragon: Inside the Trillion Dollar Dilemma Facing Hollywood, the NBA, & American Business” in July, journalists, peers, and friends have asked for my views on every aspect of the outbreak.
There are so many layers to the story, and even more unknowns. Speculation is irresponsible, and diving into the micro will only create confusion. That’s why I always go back to the important macro lessons of my book—what drives the decisions of the Chinese Communist Party.
First, the Chinese government wants their 1.4 billion people just happy enough that they don’t revolt. Second, the CCP can achieve that by creating jobs and a larger middle class through strong economic growth. Third, they can foster populace contentment by orchestrating strategic public narratives through the Propaganda Ministry.
The COVID-19 outbreak severely damaged the Chinese government’s ability to accomplish all three. Therefore, the CCP’s biggest priority is to fix that. As witnessed, the CCP is suddenly insistent on getting people back to work, restarting factories, opening retail, forcing the People’s Bank of China to take drastic actions, and forbidding investors from betting against an economic recovery. These all aid the second objective above.
With each of those cogs in China’s economic engine falling into place, China’s Propaganda Ministry needs to promote them to their populace. “China is back on-line!” is the key theme, and that occurs through symbolic means—pushing factories to billow smoke into the sky, encouraging cars on the road, and opening movie theaters across the country—or through tangible stimulus measures such as loosening credit, lowering reserve requirements, and providing large-scale fiscal stimulus. Getting the gears of their high-growth economy moving again quickly is a feat necessary in both practical and symbolic terms for maintaining the public’s confidence.
But more needs to be done to keep the 1.4 billion Chinese content. The Party also has to avoid blame for the outbreak in the first place—and the potential for such blame to land squarely on the CCP lurks large. Internally, there have been many criticisms that Beijing acted too slowly and is largely to blame for the virus’s spread.
Externally, the message is the same. The world is blaming the Chinese for the global disruption created by COVID-19’s spread, and the war of words is rapidly escalating, especially from the U.S. government. As a result, the narrative coming from Beijing is one of deflection and self-preservation. They are insisting COVID-19 came from the outside, and adamant that their efforts slowed the contagion so the rest of the world had time to prepare.
I’m not agreeing with Beijing’s rush to force its economy back online with the uncertainties of further COVID-19 spread so obvious, nor am I agreeing with their ongoing it-wasn’t-us propaganda campaign. Instead, I’m simply reiterating the three lessons from above and throughout my book. Understanding China’s point of view and motivations from the 30,000-foot level helps us understand why they do the things they do. Such awareness gives us the sound foundation needed to properly develop an effective and strategic response.
That strategic American response is more crucial now than ever. I truly fear where the bilateral relationship is going. Once the COVID-19 crisis comes to pass, the U.S.-China relationship could enter a Cold War phase. U.S. leaders instigating disputes by labeling COVID-19 in derogatory ways, or the CCP spreading misleading propaganda about the virus’s origin, is counterproductive. Not only that, it wastes valuable time and energy. Leaders should solely focus on ending the global crisis.
Even though I’m growing more hawkish daily, I still must stress the importance of looking at China as a massive opportunity both politically and economically after this crisis passes. China hawks should keep in mind that with every American product and service monetizing China’s massive market, American influence goes with it.
Each time the Chinese watch a Hollywood movie, cheer during an NBA game, study at an American college, drive an American car, or run in a pair of Nike shoes, they are touched by the subtle soft power of ingenuity, initiative, democratic principles, and culture from Americans. Economically, the growing Sino-consumption of American products and services creates jobs and increases our nation’s gross domestic product.
I implore steadfast hawks to recognize this opportunity. The continued bilateral exchange of culture and commerce can benefit Americans greatly. Although we need to be more strategic and cognizant of underlying CCP agendas moving forward, that very mission is the underlying theme of my book, and it will always be what drives me. I sincerely believe the fate of the world depends on it. Stay healthy and safe through these challenging times. Godspeed.
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Chris Fenton—Author, Producer, Media Executive, and US-Asia Institute Trustee—recounts his adventures, failures, successes, and mission in, FEEDING THE DRAGON: Inside the Trillion Dollar Dilemma Facing Hollywood, the NBA, and American Business.
IF we can recognize we have to be USA first we might be able to figure this thing out.
That’s why we pulled the lever for Trump.
Well not me. I was disabled for a few years in my 40s and they send you vote from home packages automatically for 20 years afterwards :)
So I fill them out and mail them in Lazy #### that I am :)
We have to recognize that they are Communists first. Taiwan is also Chinese, and nothing like the Communists.
yep...we backed the wrong side.
Excellent article. As a Chinese friend once told me, there are 1.4 billion Chinese but only 500 million have participated in the CCP's 'new economy'. The rest are living in 3rd world conditions. Many factory workers send money home to feed their family. If that is disrupted, as the Wuhan Virus has done, there may very well be large scale unrest. It could be ugly. Very ugly.
“Each time the Chinese watch a Hollywood movie, cheer during an NBA game, study at an American college, drive an American car, or run in a pair of Nike shoes, they are touched by the subtle soft power of ingenuity, initiative, democratic principles, and culture from Americans. Economically, the growing Sino-consumption of American products and services creates jobs and increases our nation’s gross domestic product.
I implore steadfast hawks to recognize this opportunity. The continued bilateral exchange of culture and commerce can benefit Americans greatly. “
Where have we heard this globalist garbage before. Gove our economy away to them and perhaps they will be nice. The Chinese have nothing to offer in this relationship so as any good business would do, we jettison them. Simple as that
No agenda here. /sarc
China is the enemy. They must be put on the no fly list. And round up all chinese nationals here and ship them back. Pronto.
IMHO American blue jeans sent to the Soviet Union was the USSR’s undoing.
Hell, only those of us who were alive during the Cold War seem to understand Communism.
bookmark.
(CCP and Chamber of Commerce agit prop)
How has the CCP spent their wealth? Modernizing their cities and infrastructure? Cleaning their cities and educating their population? No... building up their military, buying weapon systems, militarizing islands outside their coastal regions and intimidating their neighbors.
My respect for the Taiwanese has increased as a result of this crisis. Lord, protect them. They represent what’s best in the ancient culture of China.
Pretty straightforward, do a social connection analysis and then start peeling off selected members of each sub group. Liek the arrest of the Huawei founders daughter. Work that part of the graph for a bit and then work another sub-graph.
The in-fighting will be spectacular to watch.
“...Where have we heard this globalist garbage before. Gove our economy away to them and perhaps they will be nice. The Chinese have nothing to offer in this relationship so as any good business would do, we jettison them. Simple as that”
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“globalist garbage” indeed! WTF is it doing in ‘The Federalist’?
Yup, more of the same “sure, China is bad, but the trade benefits each country” apologists
For those jerks it’s all about the $$$, nothing else
That’s how we wound up with everything being made in China - a sheer focus on greed
I thought the same of the author’s naïveté.
We can accomplish exports without giving them license to steal IP and permit businesses to relocate for profit.
So-called Conservative icons such as Lars Larson use deceptive arguments to justify their “free trade” talk as license for the freedom of American companies to relocate manufacturing overseas to capitalize on child/slave labor.
I denounce him/them at every opportunity to expose their hypocrisy.
The victims are the American middle class, the purse by which liberals seek to buy their votes...and the Chinese people that both sides claim they are “helping” by enriching the regime.
This is a warning.
China will become the worlds most dominant economy. Technologically they can catch up extremely quickly. The groundwork of science has been done, published, and exported. Couple this with the fact they don’t play by the rules regarding intellectual property and patents.
We are helping them accomplish it. What do we think will happen once they no longer need us? The CCP is evil. Evil does what evil always does, expand power and influence regardless of whom dies.
The real danger now is that our corporations are addicted to them, not just for cheap labor but also as a market to expand into. This is where future revenue growth will come from. They WILL pander to the CCP, they already are. It will only get worse. Censorship will become worse. The news propaganda will only get worse. We all know globalists will sell us all out as they’ve been doing for decades.
The only difference is that we now see how vulnerable we are. We MUST change course now or concede a future that doesn’t respect individual liberty. Which means each of us are selling out future generations and wasting the lives of those that defended it.
I created another thread about not buying anything from China. Some of the responses, FROM FREEPERS, were alarming to say the least (paraphrasing):
- Good luck with that
- Not possible
- Will never be made here, costs too much
- This is beyond useless
Does anybody understand that we’re AT WAR? This is a different kind of war but this defeatist weak-kneed attitude will just put the last nail in our coffin.
I’m not even saying that we must bring all manufacturing back to the USA - just don’t make it in China. Buy “not in China”. I’d prefer “Made in America” but that doesn’t have to be the solution.
I’m really disappointed at some of the attitudes. Right now I feel the future is China’s and the world will regret it. Yet we saw it coming and did NOTHING. UNACCEPTABLE.
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I skipped to the end and this was all I needed to see to know this piece is just another bit of soft hearted and soft headed propaganda.
The writer can implore all he wants to but the chicoms are dead to me. If the people want to revolt and change their government I’m all for them but they have to do it on their own.
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