While We Scream, China Schemes

While America tears itself apart over political theater and culture wars, China bankrolls Putin’s carnage—delaying defeat, dodging attention, and quietly maneuvering to seize the 21st century.

Guest article by Michael Cohen

Let’s dispense with the fairy tales: global superpowers don’t do neutrality, and China just let the mask slip. As Ukraine fights for survival in year four of Russia’s brutal invasion, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi quietly admitted what Beijing’s been denying for years: that it can’t afford for Russia to lose. Why? Because a Russian collapse would allow the U.S. to finally turn its full attention to the one adversary that actually keeps Pentagon brass up at night: China. The confession, made behind closed doors in Brussels to the EU’s top diplomat, exposes what China really wants: a drawn-out, resource-draining war that keeps America distracted, divided, and too busy cleaning up Putin’s mess to check Xi Jinping’s moves in Taiwan. And while we spiral into partisan chaos over everything from pronouns to gas stoves, China’s playing three-dimensional chess—with a flamethrower.

The four-hour meeting between Wang and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas covered everything from rare earths to Taiwan, but the most revealing moment came when Wang essentially told the truth: that China cannot afford a Russian defeat because it would shift America’s strategic focus squarely onto Beijing. Forget the talking points about peace and diplomacy; this was the real policy, unvarnished and cold. And it underscores a terrifying reality: China has every incentive to let the war in Ukraine grind on. The longer it lasts, the more distracted the U.S. remains, and the more breathing room China gets to strengthen its military, choke supply chains, and rewrite the global balance of power.

And don’t be fooled by Beijing’s public spin. Just days after the meeting, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning stood at the podium like nothing happened and reaffirmed the same tired script: “China is not a party to the Ukraine issue.” Sure. Just like a getaway driver isn’t technically in the bank.

Because behind the curtain of neutrality, the facts tell a different story. Weeks before the first Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin pledged a “no limits” partnership—a love letter to autocracy disguised as a diplomatic statement. Since then, China has been quietly deepening economic and political ties with Moscow. They've increased energy imports, supplied dual-use tech, and filled enough gray-market demand to make plausible deniability a full-time job. Ukraine has already sanctioned multiple Chinese companies for funneling drone parts and components into Russian missile production.

And let’s talk about receipts. After another record-setting Russian assault on Kyiv last week, Ukrainian officials posted photos of drone wreckage. One charred piece was stamped Made in China, dated June 20. That’s not circumstantial. That’s product labeling. Meanwhile, Russia’s barrage also damaged the Chinese Consulate in Odesa—something Ukrainian diplomats rightly called the ultimate metaphor: Putin dragging Beijing into the rubble with him, alongside North Korean troops, Iranian missiles, and now, it seems, Chinese military suppliers.

There are even reports of Chinese nationals fighting alongside Russian forces. Beijing, of course, denies everything, urging its citizens to “refrain from participating in military actions of any party”—because nothing says innocence like issuing preemptive disclaimers for war crimes.

But the larger point is this: China is managing the war in Ukraine like a strategic hedge fund—minimizing risk, maximizing disruption, and letting others bleed while it bankrolls the sidelines. It’s a slow-motion geopolitical grift, and we’re the ones footing the bill.

Meanwhile, back home, we’re too busy eviscerating each other on social media and holding performative hearings in Congress to notice the world shifting under our feet. We scream louder about drag brunches than drone strikes. We’ve somehow convinced ourselves that the real war is cultural, not global—and China couldn’t be happier.

Because every Patriot missile we send to Ukraine, every dollar we allocate, every bit of political capital we spend in Brussels, Warsaw, and Kyiv—that’s one less lever we have to counter China’s aggressive ambitions in the Indo-Pacific. One less deterrent in the Taiwan Strait. One less firewall between democratic governance and authoritarian expansion.

And let’s be clear: China isn’t just playing defense. It’s making moves—securing rare earth monopolies, cornering global manufacturing, rewriting trade rules, surveilling the planet with floating spy balloons and TikTok algorithms, and forging deeper ties with rogue regimes. While we chase our tails, Xi Jinping is laying bricks for a post-American world order.

So here’s the hard truth: We’re not just fighting over nothing. We’re fighting while everything that matters is slipping away. While we argue over 7 transgender females in sports or who can speak the longest at a congressional hearing, China is building an empire of silence, stealth, and steel.

If we don't snap out of this civil cold war we’ve created for ourselves—if we don’t stop treating each other like the enemy while the real enemies outmaneuver us—we won’t need to worry about who wins the next U.S. election. Because the global scoreboard will already show: Game over.

And the worst part? We’ll have no one to blame but ourselves.

---

I’M GOING TO SAY IT OUT LOUD… WE ARE BEING DISTRACTED BY DESIGN.

I NEED YOUR HELP!

WHERE ARE ALL THE NEW SUPPORTERS? WE CAN’T DO THIS ALONE.

If you’re reading this, then you already know:
This isn’t just a newsletter. It’s a call to arms.

We’re not here to observe. We’re here to confront. To expose. To drag corruption out into the light and hold it accountable. But the truth? I can’t do this without you. Not anymore.

The fight ahead isn’t theoretical. It’s here. It’s now. And it’s relentless. We’re staring down the barrel of authoritarianism wrapped in a flag and selling freedom as a brand.

So let me ask you—Are you in?

Because this isn’t a passive read. This is a movement. And movements need muscle.

We need to build something so loud, so unshakable, that no one can twist it, spin it, or shut it down. That takes real support—not clicks, not likes. Commitment.

If you believe in truth, if you’re tired of watching the liars win, if you’re done shouting into the void, then it’s time to take the next step.

HERE’S HOW YOU RAISE YOUR VOICE:

• Become a paid subscriber… support real journalism with bite.

• Forward this to the people who never sit quietly.

• Bring your crew. Grow this community. Be the megaphone.

And yes, for the first 240 Founding Members, I’ll be sending a signed, numbered, limited-edition Substack version of my New York Times bestseller, Revenge. It’s not just a collector’s item. It’s proof you stood up when history came calling.

But this isn’t about a book.
It’s about defiance.
It’s about refusing to be gaslit.
It’s about locking arms and saying, “Not on our watch.”

You want to make a difference?
Then make it.
Right now.

Because if we don’t fight for truth—no one will.
And if we fight together? They’ll never drown us out.

Let’s be impossible to ignore.
Let’s be un-fucking-breakable.
Let’s go.

---