A Non-Military Strategy to Counter China

Workers inspect solar panels in the early morning at the fishing-solar complementary photovoltaic power generation base in Taizhou, in China's eastern Jiangsu Province, on July 12, 2023. (Stringer/AFP via Getty Images)

Commentary

Is a kinetic war with China on the horizon? The debate rages on.

Despite Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s charm offensive at the November APEC summit in San Francisco, communist China’s increasing belligerence in the South China Sea, Taiwan Strait, and West Philippine Sea cannot be wished away by those who support a return to “China engagement.” Close watchers of China insist that the Chinese regime has been engaged in a non-kinetic war with the United States since Xi came to power in 2013 (if not before).

For example, there is this quote from the Gatestone Institute on Dec. 20, 2023: “The CCP led by President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping, under the aegis of proposing a New World Order, has, over the years, by espionage, intellectual property theft, hacking, spying and lying, initiated a bitter conflict between the US and China.”

Risks and predictions of a kinetic war in the near future with China abound (see here, here, here, and here). As a result, much focus has been given to deterring that war, as well as ensuring that alliances are backstopped with sufficient military might to provide the backbone necessary for tough diplomacy.

There is one non-military strategy involving so-called green energy that would pay dividends on multiple fronts, if only the willpower to implement it existed in Washington. Let us examine that theory.

Setting the Table for the New Strategy

Ethanol is a biofuel derivative of corn. As noted by a report here, congressional subsidies for ethanol were originally started in Congress in the 1970s “as a way to achieve energy independence and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.”

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Since then, billions and billions of federal subsidies have diverted U.S. corn production into the ever-expanding ethanol industry. That is accomplished through the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) mandate, which is reauthorized regularly by Congress and administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The RFS mandates using ethanol and other biofuels by volume as a blended additive to gasoline and diesel by volume each year (15 billion gallons worth of ethanol alone in 2022, all subsidized by U.S. taxpayers).

Federal ethanol subsidies have since been expanded to include all aspects of ethanol production, blender pump subsidies, refueling vehicle property credits, and expanding RFS requirements.

The latest scheme is building so-called CO2 pipelines that would collect the carbon dioxide by-product from ethanol plants and ship that under a high-pressure network of pipelines to an underground reservoir in North Dakota. The purpose is to allow the ethanol producers to claim federally funded carbon subsidies for “sequestering carbon dioxide” from the atmosphere—a long-held objective by climate alarmists and their allies in Congress. Sequestering carbon enables ethanol producers to avoid carbon taxes in the future while providing tax incentives to capture CO2.

The Biden administration’s energy policy is embedded in the falsely-named “Inflation Reduction Act,” in which approximately $369 billion of the total was earmarked for “renewable energy” ($30 billion), utility conversion to green energy ($30 billion), 10 years of subsidies for “energy-efficient” doors and windows, and tens of billions in green energy transportation “investments.”

Also in the Act was an expansion of ethanol subsidies, including “$500 million for infrastructure to help sell higher ethanol-content gasoline at fuel stations.” Time Magazine said the $500 million was on top of “the $700 million dollars from the 2020 CARES Act funds to help ethanol and other biofuel producers impacted by the pandemic.” This is of a piece with the Democrats’ continuing push for so-called Next Generation Fuels based on ethanol.

Enter Communist China

America’s misguided move toward green energy has green-lighted communist China’s green technology development over the past decade. The Biden administration’s mandates to move U.S. energy production from hydrocarbons to “renewable energy resources” has been a godsend to Chinese producers of batteries, electric vehicles, solar panels, and other “green technology” components.

As reported by the Financial Times, “China is responsible for the production of … at least 80 percent of all the stages of making solar panels and 60 percent of wind turbines and electric-car batteries.” And Reuters reported in November that China is “the world’s top supplier of renewable energy technologies, and will have more than 80% of the world’s solar manufacturing capacity through 2026.” Furthermore, China processes nearly 90 percent of the world’s rare earth elements, which are required for the magnets that are key to manufacturing electric vehicle motors and wind turbines.

In short, the Biden administration’s green energy subsidies are actually subsidizing China’s green technology manufacturers!

A Pivot Away From Green Energy

The dire predictions that stampeded the United States and the West in pursuing the green energy mirage simply have not materialized. In 2019, the Competitive Enterprise Institute compiled 50 years worth of “failed eco-pocalyptic predictions” that have been ignored. Never mind that anthropogenic global warming predictions are based on unproven theories and failed climate models.

Electric cars for export are waiting to be loaded on the "BYD Explorer NO.1," a domestically manufactured vessel intended to export Chinese automobiles, at Yantai port in eastern China's Shandong Province, on Jan. 10, 2024. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Furthermore, Americans are learning about the problems with electric vehicles (EVs) and associated federal mandates, particularly regarding battery fires, operating issues in cold weather, and recharging station problems. Regarding the latter, this short video makes important points that are unknown to many.

For example, a six-station EV refueling site, with all stations recharging simultaneously at full capacity, consumes the energy equivalent of 1,680 average-sized homes. Even when operating at one-third capacity, the site would consume the electricity used by more than 500 average-sized houses. No wonder rental car companies such as Hertz are dumping their EV fleets!

A strategic pivot by the United States away from green energy will reap many benefits, not the least of which includes massive leverage over China. That strategy would include ending all green subsidies through a complete phaseout over a few years. Elements of the strategy include the following:

First, transition ethanol subsidies to the direct subsidization of food production. Agriculture is a strategic national industry. Feeding people is a personal imperative and a calling for farmers that should not be corrupted by diverting foodstuffs to biofuel production. Ask the communist Chinese about that, as Beijing’s top issue is food security. “Communist agricultural methods” have been unable to produce sufficient food to feed Chinese citizens, and China is the top food importer in the world.

Second, reestablish food as a diplomatic weapon. Direct subsidies to American farmers (away from ethanol to corn production) will enable “food diplomacy” while ensuring stable prices for U.S. farmers. Forcing China to divert resources from its military to food production and importation is useful geopolitical leverage that should be used when warranted.

Third, end the “eat bugs” movement. American farmers are the most productive in the world; direct farm subsidies will empower them to feed the world. It is far better to produce food than burn it in engines—and to be encouraged to consume bugs by globalists.

Fourth, end the reliance on Chinese green technologies and rare earth elements. That is good for the U.S.–China trade balance while putting serious pressure on Chinese manufacturing and mining concerns.

Finally, return to the managed exploitation of U.S. natural resources. That includes hydrocarbon production, exploration for (and exploitation of) rare earth elements inside the United States to reduce dependencies on China, and an end to taxpayer subsidies of uneconomical green energy production.

Concluding Thoughts

The United States is $34 trillion in debt and counting. Federal green subsidies are a major contributing factor to that debt. The rationale for those subsidies is based on false claims. The real reason for those subsidies is entirely political, not strategic.

One of the best non-military strategies to apply pressure on the Chinese regime that does not involve military buildups or an overt risk of war is to end green subsidies completely. That strategy would end the U.S. appetite for Chinese green technology exports, aid in rebalancing the U.S.–China trade deficit, reduce the annual federal deficit, and provide the United States with food diplomacy leverage as necessary.

If only the required U.S. political willpower existed to make it happen!

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.