Since mid 2020, the U.S. has been rolling out two rounds of sanctions and attacks once a week on average against China, which, I believe, will subsist till January 2021. Last week, Baimadajiejie Angwang, a former New York Police Department officer arrested, was charged with reporting activities of Chinese civilians in New York to the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in the city. If convicted, he will be faced with 55 years' imprisonment. On September 26, Reuters and the Financial Times reported the U.S. government had imposed a ban on export to Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation(SMIC), the largest chips manufacturer in China. U.S. Department of Commerce requested all SMIC' suppliers to stop providing the corporation and its subsidiary companies inside and outside China with what they need. In effect, SMIC has been sentenced to death by the U.S..

China has become the worst enemy of the U.S. early on, though legally and diplomatically the word “enemy” has been avoided. From the end of June to July, four U.S. top officials elaborated on the important changes in U.S. policy towards China. What Pompeo narrated is way more ruthless than those against the Soviet Union. The strategies adopted by the U.S. to quell China is a far cry from those used to deal with its other antagonistic countries: some have been employed while some are novel.

1. Geopolitical and armaments war. Trump’s team is sparing no effort in forging a “mini NATO” in the Indo-Pacific area that can besiege China. Countries confirmed to take part include the U.S., Japan, India, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and most member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Potential participants include the UK, South Korea and Canada. Since the outbreak of the border conflicts between China and India, the latter has been benefiting from U.S. intelligence and promise of advanced weaponries support; deployment of Russian and French military armaments has been renewed; Japan has just signed an agreement with Australia and India, one of the Commonwealth of Nations, on industry chains and military cooperation. The weak point of the mini NATO is that Japan does not have its own army in terms of legality. But through constitutional amendment tabled by the new cabinet, its self-defense force, de facto military, can be transformed; Since breaking off with the U.S., Taiwan has not restored its diplomatic relations with the former. With regard to the unique situation, it is not impossible that Pompeo would pay a visit to Taiwan on October 10 and even declare reinstatement of the diplomatic relations, then send a garrison to the island.

2. Legal war. U.S. parliament has passed a series of bills to impose sanctions on China concerning lawsuits about claims for compensation for damages made by the pandemic and for clearance of national debt, as well as human rights, the impact of which is no less than a hot war.

3. Ideological war. Trump’s speech at the United Nations stresses the U.S. values of democracy and freedom are still acting as a beacon while the four powers position China as an authoritarian socialist state.

4. Public opinion war. The U.S. has categorized Chinese state media as foreign agents while both are constricting each other’s number of reporters stationed in the countries. Having their directors changed, Voice of America and Radio Free Asia pass on more voices from U.S. authorities.

5. Diplomatic and espionage war. A consulate general has been expelled from each side; U.S. diplomats in China have been downgraded to consulate agents. FBI Director Christopher Wray: a counterspy case related to the Chinese government is filed every 10 hours.

6. Tech war. The U.S. does not allow China to learn sensitive advanced technologies, apprehends experts collaborating with China, and imposes a ban on export of anything related to aviation and aerospace as well as part of advanced technologies to China.

7. Trade war. Both agreements to which Trump attaches most importance and the trade war he is not concerned about are the trigger point for the deterioration of Sino-U.S. relations. Some U.S. senators have proposed revoking the most-favored-nation status of China.

8. Financial war. With all the sanctions measures imposed by the U.S., those industries, enterprises, units and individuals on the sanctions lists have been deprived of the capability of carrying out international trade and settling balances.

9. Internet war. U.S. Office of Internet Freedom has been re-activated to help Chinese netizens circumvent censorship with VPN, as well as establishing online troops to root out internet thefts and hackers and taking down Chinese apps from shelves.

10. War of attrition. A ban on advanced technologies has forced China to carry out research and development on computer chips by itself, which may cost 9,500 billion yuan(most probably to no avail). Chinese officials also cry from house-tops they produce battleships and aircraft carriers like cooking dumplings, not to mention the Belt and Road projects that need subsidies.

Wars in ten battlefields are on. When is a Sino-U.S. hot war on? It may come to existence in a suppositional situation: if Trump was to lose the election-he has reiterated a lot of times that China hopes for him losing the election to Biden, which was to a large extent caused by the pandemic, and the plague inflicted heavy losses on the U.S. economy, a hot war would break out between November 4 this year and January 19 next year.

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