The Distortions of Hawkish Groupthink on China

Every U.S. move is framed as “countering” China, and it is simply taken for granted that China is doing things that must be “countered” and the U.S. is the one to do the “countering.”

The Washington Post previews Biden’s trip to Asia and Australia this week:

Like the Japan visit, Biden’s stop in Papua New Guinea is aimed squarely at shoring up the global alliance against China, especially its expanding military operations in the South Pacific [bold mine-DL].

This report is a good example of how media coverage of U.S. containment policy often uncritically accepts and reinforces the supposed necessity of confrontation and rivalry with China. Every U.S. move is framed as “countering” China, and it is simply taken for granted that China is doing things that must be “countered” and the U.S. is the one to do the “countering.” According to this report, the only problem is Beijing’s “aggressiveness” and it is up to the U.S. and its allies to oppose it. There is no attention paid to how U.S. actions are perceived in Beijing or how those actions could be encouraging more combative Chinese behavior. While the article does quote some skeptical analysts that warn about rising tensions, it does not include any serious questioning of the containment policy that Biden is pursuing.