This is a common anti-China narrative. I’ve been hearing this kind of argument for about 30 years now. I can tell you, the number of people in China who buy into these anti-China narratives is no higher than the number of people with serious mental illnesses. Only those with very extreme, rigid views—almost like a mental condition—would accept this kind of reasoning. In real life, you’d be hard pressed to actually meet someone who holds these views. Yet here it is, showing up in outlets like the Washington Times. To me, that’s not a good sign for the United States. It shows that the media environment in the US has deteriorated to the point where this kind of garbage can appear openly in mainstream media. Americans should stay alert to this.
