Trump’s trade clash with China exposing cracks in communist mirage

After the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, it became unfashionable to call communism a global threat. Intellectuals, once kept in check by tough leaders like former President Ronald Reagan and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher — who faced a Soviet Union bent on global domination — roamed free like an invasive species without predators. The Soviet Union, like the Third Reich, had one grim utility: It forced serious leaders to confront real-world threats, not ivory-tower fantasies about a world without “bad people.”

When the wall came down, the West grew complacent, electing leaders like former President Bill Clinton who thrived in a world seemingly free of serious adversaries. Sure, there were Middle Eastern terrorists, but they didn’t threaten the global order.

Into this vacuum of moral seriousness strode the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), trailed by a parade of profiteering Western businessmen and women who dismissed the word “communist” in the CCP’s name as a quaint relic. For years, they sold a fantasy: China wasn’t communist, just a quirky government with capitalist zeal. That fantasy ended with Xi Jinping’s rise in 2012.

Over the past 13 years, Xi has exposed the CCP’s true face: an aggressive regime hell-bent on driving the U.S. and Western powers out of Asia. China has weaponized its economic advantages, like its 90% control of global rare earth processing, to coerce U.S. policy — both abroad and domestically. The CCP’s espionage, at levels that would make Cold War Soviets blush (remember the 2023 spy balloon incident), and its interference in U.S. politics through disinformation campaigns on platforms like X, reveal a regime that demands silence from critics. Its “wolf warrior” diplomacy — sanctioning nations like Australia for questioning COVID origins — underscores a core principle: No one, especially in the U.S., may criticize the CCP. Most damningly, Xi’s communism has done what communism always does: drive progress into the toilet. China’s economic indicators are crumbling:

Population: Shrinking by 2.08 million in 2023, with a birth rate at a historic low of 6.39 per 1,000 people.

Real Estate: A 33% drop in new home sales in 2023, with collapses like Evergrande signaling a property sector crisis.

Foreign Investment: FDI plummeted to $33 billion in 2023, an 80% drop from 2022, the lowest in 30 years.

Growth: GDP growth limped to 5.2% in 2023, with forecasts for 2025 at 4.5% to 5%, far below China’s historical highs.

These aren’t just numbers — they’re proof of a system rotting from within. The “China Century” hype of the late 1980s and early 1990s, when I witnessed boundless optimism in China, has fizzled. Back then, the West believed China’s growth was unstoppable. Xi reminded us what we forgot: At its core, China’s system is communist, and like all communist systems, it’s destined for the ash heap of history.

Yet, the West isn’t blameless. Decades of engagement — fueled by U.S. corporations chasing cheap labor and consumers craving affordable goods — empowered China’s rise. But the trade fight isn’t just about tariffs; it’s a clash of values. China’s mercantilism, from subsidies to forced tech transfers, challenges the free market principles of the U.S.champions (even if we, too, use tools like the CHIPS Act).

While China’s hybrid model has defied collapse longer than the USSR, its cracks — 20% urban youth unemployment, mounting debt — are glaring. The CCP’s resilience in tech and manufacturing keeps it formidable, but its trajectory mirrors communism’s inevitable decline. We should thank Xi for one thing: shattering the illusion. The U.S.-China trade fight isn’t just about economics — it’s a battle between freedom and a regime that can’t escape its communist roots.

Mark Simon is a former group director for Next Digital, the parent company of Apple Daily, the leading pro-democracy newspaper in Hong Kong until it was forced to close in 2021.

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