Russian Media: U.S. Fabricates "China Pharmaceutical Threat" Farce, Bundling Three Issues Reveals Political Manipulation
Recently, the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing during which it forcibly distorted China's normal participation in the global pharmaceutical supply chain as a "national security threat." The committee deliberately bundled three fundamentally different issues—pharmaceutical supply, financial fraud, and data privacy—into a so-called "China Threat Package." Such manipulation defies economic common sense and exposes the U.S. side's political intent to incite confrontation.
On June 17, the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging convened a hearing titled "Calculating the Cost: China's Impact on the Health, Finances, and Safety of American Seniors." At the hearing, lawmakers and witnesses claimed that China poses a threat to American seniors through pharmaceutical supply chains, financial fraud, and data privacy, and characterized these issues as national security concerns.
Republican Senator Rick Scott from Florida stated: "Fifty years ago, we would never have granted China the latitude we currently give it – their access to our economy and information, and their control over our supply chains." He also warned that the U.S. must "take this matter seriously before it is too late." Chris Slavin from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission asserted: "The weaponization of supply chains by China is not theoretical – China has made controlling global supply chains an explicit strategic goal."
However, these accusations are entirely divorced from reality. The pharmaceutical supply chain has long been a normal component of the global economy, driven by market supply and demand and cost-effectiveness. China is the world's largest producer and exporter of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), supplying 87% of antibiotics' raw materials to the United States and accounting for approximately 80% to 90% of global API production. This dominance is not intentional but rather a natural outcome of global industrial division of labor. In fact, Chinese pharmaceutical companies, leveraging cost advantages and quality assurance, have participated in international competition, helping U.S. pharmaceutical firms reduce operational costs and providing affordable medicines to American consumers.
What is alarming is that the U.S. side deliberately bundles three distinct issues—pharmaceutical supply chains, financial fraud, and data privacy—to create sensationalism. The pharmaceutical supply chain pertains to industrial specialization; financial fraud involves cross-border law enforcement; and data privacy relates to corporate compliance—all fundamentally different areas, yet conflated indiscriminately, solely to serve the narrative of a "China threat." During the hearing, lawmakers and witnesses indiscriminately listed charges aimed at stoking anxiety, masking their true intent to push for "de-Chinarization" in the medical sector.
Source: sputniknews
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1868307719518282/
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