Recently, The Economist published an article titled “Will the U.S.–China Trade War Escalate into Total Conflict?” and argued that the United States needs to build a comprehensive strategy to enhance its moral and political standing. It emphasized that it cannot rely solely on Trump’s current cynical stance; otherwise, America’s moral and political authority will continue to weaken.

The Economist demonstrates strategic foresight: a full strategy must go beyond trade tariffs. It should encompass politics, military, economy, science and technology, culture, and ideology—among which ideology is the most decisive against communism. The catastrophes of the 20th century stemmed from communist propaganda and agitation, violent rebellions, and the rise of leaders like Stalin and Mao Zedong, who ascended to power atop countless corpses. Once in power, they continued oppressive regimes, causing further suffering. Today, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) inherits Mao’s anti-American strategy, confronting the U.S. and seeking global dominance, attempting to perpetuate communist totalitarian harm.

When the U.S. confronts the CCP in trade and economic matters, it must reassert the moral high ground, strongly condemning communism’s inhumanity and the unprecedented atrocities that killed tens of millions over decades. The CCP continues to conceal the truth to maintain its authoritarian rule, perpetuating Mao Zedong’s criminal policies.

By upholding basic humanitarian principles and the sanctity of human life, the U.S. can highlight Mao’s famine that killed 40 million, solemnly denouncing the CCP for treating human lives as expendable. Mao saw millions dead as mere numbers, casually burning reports, and even claimed: “Death is useful; it can be fertilizer. For the victory of world revolution, I am prepared to sacrifice 300 million people.”

In the 1960s, during a massive famine, Mao prioritized building atomic bombs over saving human lives. The United States, at the time, could not ascertain the famine’s true extent due to China’s strict information blockade, and foreign aid or condemnation was impossible. Mao repeatedly denied the famine in meetings with foreign leaders, leaving the international community uninformed and powerless to intervene.

For decades, the CCP blocked information about the famine. Only forty years later did former Xinhua journalist Yang Jisheng, after ten years of nationwide investigation, publish a 1,100-page record in Hong Kong in 2006, revealing that 40 million had died. In 2013, writer Eva published The Great Famine Survivors in the U.S., a 600-page collection of interviews, revealing the full scope of the tragedy.

The famine was entirely man-made: policies restricted millions of peasants from cultivating their own food, forbade leaving villages, and prevented escape. Entire villages starved to death—a tragedy almost unimaginable.

These investigative accounts remain banned in China, censored online, leaving 1.4 billion people deceived.

By standing on the moral high ground, the U.S. can firmly condemn the communist disaster, striking at the very heart of the CCP, stirring international outrage, and isolating China globally. Once this information reaches Chinese citizens, it may awaken public awareness, foment opposition to current policies, and pressure the CCP to abandon Mao’s authoritarian anti-American strategies, bury communism, and peacefully transition to democratic constitutional governance, reintegrating China into the civilized world order.