ABSTRACT
China is connected to the United States not only economically, socially and geopolitically; they are connected biologically and physiologically as well, as demonstrated with such devastating consequences during the COVID-19 epidemic that originated in China and quickly spread to the United States and throughout the world in early 2020. Its impact on public health facilities, air passenger travel, global production systems and other critical infrastructure sectors in the United States underlines both how interdependent the U.S. and China are in so many ways and, likewise, how interdependent critical infrastructure sectors in the United States are on each other. Viral infections from China can also undermine U.S. homeland security interests through the cyber realm. Cyberattacks emanating from China encompass a full range of activities including cyber theft of intellectual property and data breaches of sensitive U.S. security information. As the world moves into the fifth generation (5G) of internet technologies, there are mounting concerns that a Chinese company, Huawei, may be a key provider of 5G digital infrastructure that supports a rapidly evolving Internet-of-Things (IoT), and this may magnify the potential vulnerability of this critical infrastructure. From a U.S. policy perspective, the challenge is to formulate, coordinate, and implement an effective strategy for maintaining a resilient homeland security apparatus in response to these rapid changes.
