By Qamar Bashir
A few months ago, I argued in a widely circulated article that the United States was constructing an “ark of defense” around the South China Sea and the Asia-Pacific to contain China’s growing influence. Washington’s strategy involved building aggressive alliances, deploying military assets, and reshaping regional security architecture to assert dominance. Initiatives like AUKUS and QUAD, enhanced military integration with Japan and the Philippines, and intelligence sharing under Five Eyes became central to this containment plan. Through joint naval patrols, expanded military exercises, and command restructuring, the U.S. aimed to deter Beijing’s assertiveness and limit its geopolitical reach.
However, after the events of September 3rd, 2025, a deeper realization emerged: while Washington was openly building its ark of defense, China was quietly constructing a far more formidable wall. Unlike the United States, which relies on military pressure and transactional security guarantees, China is reshaping the world through economic integration, resource dominance, and strategic alliances. Where Washington builds fences, Beijing builds bridges. Where America threatens, China invests. And this difference in strategy is transforming global power dynamics in ways the U.S. underestimated.
America’s containment policy rests on three key levers: military pressure, economic de-risking, and diplomatic isolation. Militarily, AUKUS deepens defense ties with Australia and the U.K., enabling Canberra to acquire nuclear-powered submarines for operations in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea. QUAD, which includes Japan and India, coordinates maritime security, supply chain resilience, and regional influence. Meanwhile, the Five Eyes alliance—comprising the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand—has intensified accusations against China over cyber espionage and AI-enabled surveillance, framing Beijing as a systemic technological threat.
Economically, Washington’s “de-risking” strategy aims to reduce dependence on China’s supply chains by reshoring manufacturing, diversifying sourcing to countries like Vietnam and India, and restricting Chinese access to strategic technologies such as 5G, AI, and semiconductors. At the same time, the U.S. has leaned on its allies to align with these restrictions, even when it conflicts with their economic priorities.
Diplomatically, Washington has deepened bilateral defense pacts, particularly with Japan and the Philippines, initiating joint maritime patrols in disputed waters and upgrading command structures. These moves aim to militarily encircle China and politically isolate it, but Beijing has responded with a more subtle, long-term strategy that prioritizes influence over intimidation.
China’s approach is deliberate and multidimensional. Through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Beijing has invested more than $1.3 trillion across 150 countries, building highways, railways, deep-sea ports, power grids, and industrial zones. These are not symbolic gestures but economic lifelines that tether local economies to China’s ecosystem. From Pakistan’s Gwadar Port to Kenya’s Lamu Port, Beijing has forged relationships that cannot be easily disrupted by U.S. pressure. The result is a sphere of influence rooted in shared development rather than military dependency.
China has also built a strategic shield through its dominance over rare earth elements and critical minerals—resources essential for iPhones, EV batteries, satellites, AI chips, and advanced fighter jets. Controlling 70–80% of global refining capacity, China holds enormous leverage over industries vital to Western economies and defense systems. In a potential conflict, Beijing would not need to launch missiles to undermine its rivals; it could simply restrict access to the screws, magnets, and chips that power modern technology and weaponry.
Complementing this economic and resource advantage is China’s “String of Pearls” strategy, which secures critical maritime chokepoints across the Indian Ocean, South China Sea, and Pacific Rim. Through strategic investments in ports such as Hambantota in Sri Lanka, Kyaukpyu in Myanmar, and Djibouti, China has quietly built a logistics network supporting both trade and potential naval operations. These assets secure China’s dominance over shipping lanes carrying more than 60% of global trade and provide its navy with unprecedented reach and resilience.
Unlike the U.S., China has also cultivated an edge in soft power by avoiding costly interventions that leave destruction and instability behind. While Washington’s invasions of Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Afghanistan created deep mistrust, Beijing has avoided regime change and instead focuses on building schools, hospitals, housing, and industrial parks in developing nations. Across the Global South, this has fostered goodwill, portraying China as an enabler of sovereignty rather than a manipulator of dependency.
The post–September 3rd developments make this shift undeniable. As Washington’s alliances fragment, Beijing’s partnerships deepen. Through BRI expansion, BRICS enlargement, and new global trade corridors, China now exerts influence over economies representing 60–70% of global GDP. Strategic partnerships with Brazil, Russia, Pakistan, Indonesia, South Africa, and much of the Middle East have strengthened China’s leadership in emerging markets. Even traditional U.S. partners like Saudi Arabia and the UAE have moved closer to Beijing, attracted by investments, energy deals, and access to Chinese technology.
Meanwhile, under Donald Trump’s second term, America’s relationships with Canada, Europe, and NATO have deteriorated. Longtime allies now openly challenge Washington’s confrontational policies, calling for “European solutions to European problems” and pursuing greater independence from U.S.-led security frameworks. Washington’s attempts to isolate China have, ironically, isolated itself.
This strategic reversal is stark. For years, Washington envisioned China as the encircled power, constrained by alliances and tariffs. Yet today, it is the United States that risks isolation. Outside of Israel, Washington struggles to maintain unified global support, while Beijing’s expanding economic partnerships have earned it gratitude and loyalty across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. China’s strategy of integration attracts; America’s strategy of pressure repels.
This is a decisive moment in global history. While the United States continues to invest in its ark of defense—military alliances, sanctions, tariffs, and deterrence—China has quietly built a durable web of power rooted in roads, ports, minerals, markets, and trust. Beijing’s message is simple yet powerful: “This world is big enough for all of us to thrive.” Washington’s message, however, remains uncompromising: “We make the rules; follow them or face the consequences.”
In the long run, it is the strategy of interdependence, not intimidation, that will define the future. While Washington flexes its aircraft carriers and military alliances, Beijing is quietly reshaping the global order beneath the surface—one port, one railway, one strategic partnership at a time. And as history unfolds, it is this silent wall, not America’s ark of defense, that may ultimately determine the balance of power in the decades ahead.
Writer is Press Secretary to the President (Rtd)
Former Press Minister, Embassy of Pakistan to France
Former Press Attache to Malaysia
Former MD, SRBC | Macomb, Michigan, USA
