Peter Schweizer coined this phrase as he describes how China influences the elites in a country with gifts and money and more to see that ...
Peter Schweizer coined this phrase as he describes how China influences the elites in a country with gifts and money and more to see that China and the elites have the same goals.
Peter Schweizer recently coined the term “elite capture”. This phrase he identified when writing on China’s actions that are taken with a country to entice the country’s elites to see things as China does. The Gatestone Institute shares an article written by Peter Schweizer.
While researching how Americans having been getting rich by helping the Chinese Communist Party achieve its outspoken aim of replacing the US as the “world’s No.1 power,” I came across the phrase “elite capture” — their term to describe the actions of influential people in the US towards China.
“Elite capture” can refer to different things, but to the Chinese Communist Party, China’s intelligence apparatus, or those involved in quasi-private business ventures, it is a crucial tool of their success. The idea is simple enough: by tempting another country’s elite with money, access and favors, you move them to see their interests and China’s interests as intertwined or even the same.
The Chinese are not subtle about this, and they barely try to hide it. They practice it around the world, most notably in Africa in pursuit of their Belt and Road Initiative. But elites in Western democracies have proved to be a soft touch, particularly among non-governmental elites.
“Red Handed: How American Elites are Helping China Win,” my latest book, centers on this truth and explores how elites in academia, high-finance, sports and entertainment, and the technology sector became apologists for China’s deplorable human rights record, industrial and military espionage, and increasingly aggressive behavior.
What separates this from ordinary diplomacy or even the time-honored business slogan that “the customer is always right” is the power wielded by those who succumb to the temptation. The book investigates the public activities and statements of some of the most powerful people in the US. From the world of Silicon Valley, we explore Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Tim Cook of Apple, and Bill Gates of Microsoft. From the world of Wall Street, we looked at Ray Dalio of Bridgewater, the largest hedge-fund investment company in the world, and Larry Fink of BlackRock. From academia we explored the actions of Harvard and Yale universities. We surveyed the relationship histories of the Bush family, the Trudeau family of Canada, the Pelosi family, and of course, the Biden family.
We’ve seen this during the Trump years for sure. President Trump asked companies to get out of China. He encouraged them back to the US with tax incentives to do so. He shared that American companies have a responsibility to support America first. When American companies began moving out of China, the Chinese economy was seriously damaged. Although not reported, it is doubtful that it has.
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