With a little over a week to go before the next round of trade-talks, experts on China got together in Manhattan on Oct. 1 to explain what is at stake for Americans.
"What would you want to achieve by waging war on another country, and how could you achieve those exact same goals using non-military; trans-military, or unconventional military means?" said Investigative Reporter and Senior Editor Joshua Philipp from The Epoch Times, an NTD News affiliate.
It's called unrestricted warfare: China over the years has weaponized infrastructure, education, and trade to influence or control the means of production at an international level.
Batchelor, however, said we are in the midst of a transformation, dropping the old Chinese business model, and moving on.
He also gives credit to President Trump for the progress. FOX Business Anchor Tim Sullivan said the president has received bilateral support for his tough stance on China, even from those hurt by tariffs.
"I tell you, the American people are all for buckling down, taking some sacrifices, in order to win this trade war with China," said Sullivan.
But moderator and Talkers Magazine Publisher Michael Harrison said first and foremost, Americans need to know what's going on—which he said was the point of this panel.
"Awareness is the first step toward dealing with the encroachment of so many of our values and so many of our interests by the Communist Chinese Party," said Harrison.
And Batchelor said transparency is key: "China's non-transparent: transparency is strength. Good information makes for good decisions, makes for good consumers; we know that—they're learning."