A New Reagan Doctrine for a New Cold War

China and the United States are not only strategic rivals, but also adversaries in a second Cold War, competing for global supremacy. In the military realm, China is determined to push American forces away from the western Pacific. The United States, which considers itself a Pacific power, is equally determined not to budge. The world's two largest economies also clash over trade, imposing tariffs on each other to gain an advantage. In the field of high technology, from artificial intelligence to 5G networks, the two countries battle for dominance, seeing the other's success as a threat to their security. Even in manufacturing, Beijing wants to become the global superpower, which would undermine American workers. But what makes this contentious bilateral relationship a true sequel to the American-Soviet rivalry is the ideological dimension.

The Cold War of the 20th century, explains the historian John Lewis Gaddis, was distinct from other cold wars because of its ideological divide. The conflict was, fundamentally, about ideas—in this case communism, and whether it was preferable to Western democracy and pluralism. Today, the ideological divide between China and the United States is similarly stark, playing a central role in the Sino-American rivalry. Beijing's ideology is not just a form of communist authoritarianism mixed with crony capitalism. Under President Xi Jinping, China has developed a personality cult, under which the Communist Party uses the latest technology to control and oppress the Chinese people. Just look at how the Chinese government has imprisoned about one million ethnic Uighur Muslims in concentration camps and tried to erase their culture. Such is the work of a regime that, with its global ambitions, envisions a very different world than the American-led one that has endured since 1945.

China is not simply pursuing strategic interests abroad and stability at home. With its imperial past in mind, the Asian behemoth seeks to dominate East Asia and, eventually, to supplant the United States as the center of power in international affairs. Many Chinese leaders, especially Xi, view themselves as rulers of a superior civilization, deserving of deference. This conflict is most certainly ideological.

A new report by the International Republican Institute shows how Cold War II is beginning to resemble its predecessor around the world, with ideology playing a fundamental role. The report, titled "Chinese Malign Influence and the Corrosion of Democracy," examines how the Chinese Communist Party is employing aggressive tactics to seek nefarious political and economic influence in the developing world. Specifically, IRI uses the research of experts in 12 "vulnerable democracies"—Cambodia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Serbia, Ecuador, Zambia, Mongolia, Hungary, The Gambia, Myanmar, Malaysia, and the Maldives—to study how Beijing "manipulates internal political and information environments to its own benefit."

"China's preference for opaque, corrupt economic deals corrodes democratic institutions and leaves countries increasingly beholden to their Chinese creditors," the report states. "These actions, in conjunction with China's support for likeminded, illiberal partners and growing advocacy for its authoritarian model, have the potential to draw fragile democracies into China's orbit and away from the United States and the democratic West."