China’s Shadow War: Is Beijing Plotting Against America?
In a world teetering on the edge of chaos, one question looms larger than ever: Is China preparing to strike at the heart of the United States? Gordon Chang, a seasoned China watcher and author of Plan Red: China’s Project to Destroy America, recently sat down with Joe Pags on the Unshaken and Unafraid podcast to unpack this unsettling possibility. Their conversation, raw and unfiltered, pulls back the curtain on Beijing’s ambitions, its covert operations, and the existential threat it poses to the U.S. From nuclear proliferation to espionage balloons drifting over American skies, Chang’s warnings paint a picture of a nation not just competing with the U.S. but actively working to undermine it. For Americans blissfully unaware of the storm brewing across the Pacific, this is a wake-up call you can’t afford to ignore.
Why does China seem so fixated on America? Why can’t we just coexist? These aren’t just academic questions—they’re the pulse of a geopolitical chess game where the stakes are nothing less than global dominance. Chang’s insights, grounded in decades of studying China’s opaque power structures, reveal a Communist Party driven by paranoia, control, and a vision of a world where Beijing reigns supreme. Let’s dive into the chilling details and ask: Are we ready for what’s coming?
The Long Arm of Beijing: Nuclear Proliferation and Iran
Chang doesn’t mince words when it comes to China’s role in global instability. Take Iran’s nuclear ambitions, for instance. When the U.S. flexed its military muscle with precision bunker-buster strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, Beijing’s inner circle was reportedly stunned. Why? Because China has been a silent but critical player in Iran’s nuclear program. Chang alleges that China supplied Iran with nearly everything it needed to develop nuclear weapons, from centrifuge technology funneled through Pakistan’s notorious A.Q. Khan network to direct shipments of materials to Tehran’s regime. This isn’t just about Iran—it’s about China’s broader strategy to destabilize the West by arming its adversaries.
The irony is biting: China, a nation that projects itself as a global peacemaker, has been quietly fueling the fires of chaos. By empowering Iran, Beijing aimed to keep the U.S. distracted and bogged down in the Middle East. But when President Trump’s decisive action disrupted that plan, it exposed the fragility of China’s alliances. Iran, once a close partner, now sees Beijing’s promises as hollow. “China hasn’t done much to protect Iran from the U.S.,” Chang notes, hinting at a rift that could reshape geopolitics. But why does China play this dangerous game? It’s not just about regional influence—it’s about keeping America in check.
A Proxy War in Ukraine and Beyond
China’s fingerprints aren’t just on Iran—they’re all over the world’s hot spots. Take Ukraine, where Russia’s grinding war of attrition threatens to reshape Europe. Chang argues that China isn’t just a bystander; it’s an active enabler. Before Russia’s invasion in February 2022, Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin issued a joint statement proclaiming a “no-limits partnership.” Days later, Russia waited until after Beijing’s Winter Olympics to launch its assault, a move Chang sees as a nod to China’s influence. Since then, China has supplied Russia with military intelligence, diplomatic cover, and even weapons components, not to mention Chinese mercenaries fighting on the front lines.
This isn’t about Ukraine—it’s about America. By backing Russia, China wages a proxy war, testing U.S. resolve while destabilizing the global order. From North Africa to the Middle East, Chang sees a pattern: China foments chaos to weaken the West. “Xi Jinping has taken a page out of Mao’s playbook,” he says, referencing the chaos-driven tactics of Mao Zedong’s peasant movement. The goal? A world where China’s rivals are too fractured to resist its rise. It’s a chilling strategy, and one that raises a nagging question: Are we underestimating the scope of Beijing’s ambitions?
The Spy Balloon and Military Failures
If China’s global machinations weren’t alarming enough, its actions on American soil are downright brazen. Remember the Chinese spy balloon that drifted across the U.S. in early 2023? It wasn’t just a weather balloon gone astray, as Beijing claimed. Chang points out that the balloon collected signals intelligence and, more critically, exposed America’s vulnerabilities. The Biden administration’s response—or lack thereof—was a case study in hesitation. The balloon traversed the entire country, from Alaska to South Carolina, before being shot down over the Atlantic. By then, it had gathered all the data it needed.
Worse, Chang reveals a deeper failure: the U.S. military tracked the balloon but didn’t inform President Biden until it had been in American airspace for days. And when General Mark Milley, then-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, claimed the balloon hadn’t transmitted data to China, later reports contradicted him. Chang doesn’t hesitate to call this out: Milley’s statement was “counterintuitive” and likely a cover for Beijing. This wasn’t just a bureaucratic fumble—it was a betrayal of trust that left Americans wondering: Who’s watching the watchers?
China’s Infiltration: A Threat Within
The balloon was just the tip of the iceberg. Chang warns of a more insidious threat: Chinese networks embedded in the U.S., poised to strike. From illicit surveillance of critical infrastructure to incursions onto military bases, Beijing’s operatives are mapping America’s weaknesses. The 2017 National Intelligence Law mandates that every Chinese national, even those abroad, must spy for the state. This means even well-meaning Chinese immigrants could be coerced into espionage, with threats against family members back home as leverage.
Chang’s most alarming claim? These networks are “waiting for the go order.” Former FBI Director Christopher Wray underscored the scale of the threat, noting that the FBI opened a new counterintelligence case against China every 10 hours. Cyberattacks, too, overwhelm U.S. defenses, with China’s hackers outnumbering FBI agents 50 to 1. From academia to media, Beijing’s influence seeps into every corner of American society. Chang’s solution is drastic but clear: close the borders to Chinese nationals until the threat is contained. It’s a controversial stance, but one he argues is necessary to protect the nation.
The Mind of Xi Jinping: A Cornered Strongman
At the heart of this storm is Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader, whose grip on power is both iron-fisted and precarious. Chang paints Xi as a man driven by an imperial vision, claiming the “mandate of heaven” to rule not just China but the world. From declaring the moon and Mars as Chinese territory to envisioning the U.S. as a mere colony, Xi’s ambitions are breathtakingly audacious. Yet, his domestic troubles—economic stagnation, public unrest, and purges within the military—suggest a leader on shaky ground.
The Chinese economy, once a juggernaut, is now trapped in a deflationary spiral. Xi’s obsession with state-controlled manufacturing over consumption has tanked real estate values, wiping out the wealth of the middle class. Protests in 2022, sparked by draconian COVID policies, showed a population fed up with the Communist Party’s iron grip. Within the party, Xi faces challenges from military and civilian factions, with rumors swirling that his loyalists are being “suicided” or sidelined. A cornered Xi, Chang warns, is a dangerous Xi—one who might provoke a crisis, perhaps even a direct strike on the U.S., to rally support and cling to power.
The American Blind Spot
Here’s the kicker: while China obsesses over America, most Americans barely give it a second thought. As Chang puts it, “We wake up thinking about what we’re eating for lunch; they wake up thinking about us.” This asymmetry is America’s Achilles’ heel. Our open society, our democratic ideals, make us vulnerable to a regime that sees freedom as a threat. The Communist Party fears America’s values—our ability to govern ourselves, to debate openly, to resolve conflicts without violence. To Beijing, these aren’t just ideals; they’re weapons that could inspire the Chinese people to demand more.
So why aren’t we paying attention? Part of it is cultural: Americans, as Alexis de Tocqueville observed in the 1830s, just want to be left alone. But in a world where China’s operatives are probing our defenses, buying land near military bases, and flooding our institutions with influence, ignorance is a luxury we can’t afford. Chang’s call to action is stark: wake up, batten down the hatches, and confront the threat head-on. Whether it’s through tougher trade policies, border controls, or dismantling Chinese networks, the time for complacency is over.
What’s Next for U.S.-China Relations?
The future hinges on one man: President Trump. Chang argues that Trump holds nearly all the cards in the trade war with China. If he leverages America’s economic might—through tariffs, sanctions, or decoupling—Beijing could be forced to the table. But China’s predatory trade practices, from gaming the World Trade Organization to flooding markets with cheap goods, show no signs of abating. Xi’s vision of global dominance leaves little room for fair play.
Then there’s the question of Xi’s succession. If he’s ousted or reduced to a figurehead, will a new leader shift China’s course? Chang doubts it. The Communist Party’s grip on power relies on control, not reform. Even a new leader would likely double down on anti-Americanism to maintain legitimacy. The real wildcard is whether Xi, fighting for survival, might escalate tensions—perhaps in the South China Sea or even on American soil—to distract from his domestic woes.
A Call to Vigilance
Gordon Chang’s warnings aren’t just a laundry list of grievances; they’re a clarion call to a nation sleepwalking toward danger. China’s ambitions—nuclear proliferation, proxy wars, espionage—are not distant threats but clear and present dangers. The U.S. must confront this reality with eyes wide open, not with the naive hope of coexistence. As Chang’s book Plan Red argues, Beijing’s project to destroy America is no conspiracy theory—it’s a strategy laid bare by decades of actions.
So, what do we do? First, recognize the threat. Second, act decisively—whether through economic pressure, military readiness, or rooting out internal vulnerabilities. And third, never underestimate a regime that sees our freedom as its greatest enemy. The question isn’t whether China is preparing to strike—it’s whether we’re ready to respond. Are we?
