The Costs of U.S.-China Militarized Rivalry for Chinese and Asian Americans: Hate Crimes, Unjust Targeting of Scholars, and Legal Exclusions

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Suisheng Zhao, Professor and Director of the Center for China-US Cooperation at Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver, argues that anti-Asian and anti-Chinese American racism has intensified along with the militarized U.S.-China rivalry that has escalated in the past decade, particularly since President Trump launched a trade war against China in 2018.

People hold a "stop asian hate" sign as they attend a Justice for Asian Women Rally in Times Square, New York, NY, March 16, 2022. (Photo by Anthony Behar/Sipa USA via AP Images)

Within the United States, the militarized U.S.-China rivalry has fueled anti-Asian racism, particularly towards Chinese Americans. In the past five years, there has been a rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans. Chinese American scholars and students have been targeted as potential spies because of their heritage, and in some U.S. states, Chinese nationals and Chinese Americans have been excluded from purchasing land and homes. This discrimination goes against the U.S. values of human rights and equality for all. Strategically, it contributes to the U.S. losing the international talent competition and harms U.S. economic interests.

About the Author

Suisheng Zhao

Professor and Director of the Center for China-US Cooperation at Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver

suisheng.zhao@du.edu

Suisheng Zhao is a Professor and Director of the Center for China-US Cooperation at the Josef Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs, University of Denver. A Campbell National Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, he is the founder and editor of the Journal of Contemporary China, and the author and editor of over two dozen books and hundreds of academic articles. His most recent book, “The Dragon Roars Back: Transformational Leaders and Dynamics of Chinese Foreign Policy” (Stanford University Press, 2023), was named one of “Best of Books 2024” by Foreign Affairs magazine. A two-time winner of the Distinguished Scholar Awards (the highest academic honor conferred by the University of Denver) in 2019-2010 and 2024-2025 years, Professor Zhao is recognized by Stanford/Elsevier as among the top 2% scientists. He received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, San Diego, an M.A. in Sociology from the University of Missouri, and a B.A. and M.A. in economics from Peking University.