China was America’s whipping boy again this week. President Donald Trump used his United Nations General Assembly speech to accuse and to threaten Beijing for its role in covering up the early stages of the pandemic. He said that the U.N. “must hold China accountable for their actions.”

In other words, China must pay. Tough words with the promise of an even tougher response.

But rhetoric is where the toughness ends because China continues to profit from Washington’s indifference, political ineptitude and irresponsible policies. In reality, American farmers, consumers and middle-class citizens are paying the heftiest price for China’s misbehavior, rights abuses, cyber-espionage and intellectual-property theft. READ MORE