Romney's Reckless China Rhetoric Risks New Cold War

Tough talk on China is all the rage in Washington. Senate Republicans are directing GOP candidates to answer questions about America's disastrous coronavirus response by blaming Beijing for the outbreak, while presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is accusing President Donald Trump of being soft on China.

Sen. Mitt Romney jumped on this bandwagon last week by calling on America to "seize the moment" of the pandemic to wage a grand geopolitical struggle against China. His argument is based on fundamental factual distortions that betray an ignorance of China's capabilities and strategy. Romney inflates the threat posed by Beijing, feeding into a reckless new Cold War narrative. He betrays conservative principles, advocating a protectionist and over-militarized strategy that will drive up deficits and weaken our economy at a time when we are already grappling with a serious recession and skyrocketing debt.

Romney notes how the coronavirus pandemic has highlighted America's reliance on China for medical supplies and implies something sinister about interdependence. He neglects to mention how Americans have worked with Chinese companies to procure rapid shipments of vital personal protective equipment (PPE)….