China and Russia Conspiring to Weaken the United States

Chinese Communist regime and Russia are accelerating secret operations to undermine America’s dominant position through deadly fentanyl, cyber attacks, and infiltration of key infrastructure such as ports and utilities.

One of the most destructive actions to date is the Chinese Communist regime’s support for illegal fentanyl exports to the United States, causing over 200 American deaths per day. Newly discovered evidence found on Chinese websites, later deleted, shows that the Chinese Communist regime is purposefully subsidizing the export of fentanyl precursors, which are illegal in both China and the United States. These precursors have no other use except for the production of illegal drugs. It can be said without exaggeration that this action by the Chinese Communist regime amounts to a form of genocide against American citizens.

On April 16, the House Committee on the CCP released a report revealing that China produces almost all illegal fentanyl precursors, subsidizing their production and aiding suspects evade investigations when sought by U.S. drug enforcement agencies.

In some cases, the Chinese regime profits directly from illegal drug manufacturers by holding shares in them. The House Committee on the CCP indicated that “the fentanyl crisis has made Chinese organized crime groups linked to the CCP the world’s top money launderers, propelling China’s chemical industry and causing destructive impacts on Americans.”

On April 17, CNBC reported details of increasing cyber attacks by China and Russia on U.S. infrastructure, including up to 750 million attacks on the Port of Los Angeles in 2023. Over 80% of the port’s cargo cranes are manufactured in China, many of which contain suspected vulnerabilities in Chinese software that could enable adversaries to monitor military cargo shipments or remotely hijack navy and commercial vessels, causing disruption to U.S. supply chains and military operations.

Google found that the Russian military intelligence agency was connected to a cyber attack on a water filtration plant in Texas in January. An Iran-affiliated group reportedly hacked a water plant in Pennsylvania in November. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan urged water companies to take more measures to ensure the security of their network operations, including implementing more secure remote controls for water and wastewater treatment plants. With 150,000 public water utilities in the U.S., many facing financial constraints, ensuring their security likely requires a national action plan.

According to The Washington Post on April 17, a newly disclosed Russian secret document detailed its hybrid warfare plan to weaken the United States. The document, a secret supplement approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin to a public policy statement in 2023, was not denied by the Russian Foreign Ministry when The Washington Post sought confirmation of its authenticity.

The public policy statement labels the West’s global ambitions as “hegemonism.” Russia seeks to alter the world order, granting more power to itself, China, and Iran among other autocratic states. Moscow hopes the West will “accept the complex reality of a multipolar world,” effectively threatening to initiate a nuclear war if not complied with, potentially targeting their “brothers” in Ukraine first as demonstrated on March 13, when President Putin reiterated his nuclear threat.

According to The Washington Post’s translation, the document outlines a comprehensive strategy in “military-political, economic trade, and information psychological fields.” Russia’s ambitious goal is to change the U.S.-led world order, supported by an “unfriendly country alliance” that may include the UK, France, Poland, and several Baltic countries that actively supported Ukraine during the war.

The Russian Foreign Ministry anticipates that the outcome of the war will “determine the contours of the future world order.” To achieve this, the Foreign Ministry suggests carrying out “offensive information operations” and establishing mechanisms to identify vulnerabilities in both internal and foreign policies of “unfriendly countries” to devise viable measures to weaken Russia’s adversaries.

Unless the U.S. effectively counters the aggressions of China, Russia, and Iran against us and our allied nations, we may be seen as a weak and indecisive country and become vulnerable targets. The country that can replace the U.S.-led international order will gain huge economic benefits. In our pursuit of democratic ideals and support for national sovereignty, we have gracefully relinquished these economic benefits. If another country were to take over the control of the international order from the U.S. in the future, that country would likely not act as gracefully.

Anders Corr holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Political Science from Yale University and a PhD in Public Policy from Harvard University. He is the publisher of the Journal of Political Risk and the CEO of Corr Analytics Inc., conducting research across North America, Europe, and Asia. His recent works include “The Concentration of Power: Institutionalization, Hierarchy, and Hegemony” (2021) and “Great Powers, Grand Strategies: the New Game in the South China Sea” (2018).