No amount of China scapegoating will reverse America’s decline

Disturbing reports have surfaced of Chinese students travelling to the United States being subjected to discriminatory and politically motivated treatment. Young students have been pulled aside for hours of questioning, even denied entry under the pretext of national security.

While the US has implemented stricter border controls and immigration policies, Chinese students have nothing to do with illegal immigration. They are genuine assets to both countries – not national security risks.

As the Chinese saying goes, the falling of one leaf heralds the coming of autumn. What is worrying is not only the dramatic shift from welcome to denial, but also the US perception that China is the enemy. It is alarming how American politics is fuelling this antagonism.

A wave of US media commentary warns that the US is on the brink of making China – rather than America – great again, diagnosing the chaos within the US government as a geopolitical gift to China. Whether criticising US President Donald Trump’s restrictive immigration policies, interference in education, tariff-driven inflation, destabilisation of the US dollar or the “Big Beautiful Bill” that sidelines clean energy, China is often cast as a bogeyman.

The real story, however, has little to do with Beijing. These are fundamentally critiques of American domestic policy failures, yet the message is clear: Trump’s policies don’t just harm America – they help China. This sleight of hand avoids confronting a more uncomfortable truth: America’s deepest problems are home-grown.

The “Make America Great Again” movement that catapulted Trump to power is more than a political slogan. It is a symptom of long-festering dissatisfaction. At its core, the Maga movement reflects nostalgia for a bygone era of US global leadership, economic prosperity and cultural integration of immigrants. Its demands – economic protectionism, strict immigration controls and a return to “traditional values” – resonate with many Americans who felt left behind by globalisation and rapid social change.

  

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