The last few months or so have been perhaps the worst that the U.S.-China relationship has seen in generations. In just the past few weeks, several incidents have occurred including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo calling out the dangers of authoritarian China in his address to the Slovenian people regarding 5G technology, and the Chinese military conducting reactionary drills around East Asia in the aftermath of America sending aircraft carrier groups to the South China Sea to perform dual-carrier exercises in July.

This summer has also seen both superpowers ordering the closure of consulates and the FBI issuing a warning to Americans in China of a “heightened risk of arbitrary detention,” related to “state security.”

Although the countries can be classified as each other’s “biggest investor and trade partner,” according to Chinese President Xi Jinping, the last year has put significant strain on an already complicated relationship.

These recent events are enough to cause concern that that eventual military aggression may be an unavoidable eventuality as the list of offenses by the Chinese against the U.S., and really the rest of the world is a lengthy one, particularly since late 2019.

The Chinese, who were hoarding PPE imports for a time while simultaneously denying person-to-person communicability of the virus, withheld a shipment of PPE marked for delivery in the U.S. According to Steven Bannon, former White House chief strategist and host of "Bannon's War Room," “The same people that understood this virus had human-to-human transmission and was going to be a pandemic were at the same time vacuuming up every piece of PPE from the US, Brazil and Europe.”

In the time since, the Trump administration and many other politicians in both parties have called out China for the death toll and recession associated with their singular mishandling of the original COVID-19 outbreak.

The conversation has already begun regarding specific financial reparations due to the world from China as a result of COVID-19, and as America attention now pivots to November’s election it is important to consider the positions of both candidates on China.

President Trump has already rightfully called out China for their record of indiscretions. During 2017’s visit to Beijing, he told reporters, “This relationship is something which we are working very hard to make a fair and reciprocal one. Trade between China and the United States has not been -- over the last many many years -- a very fair one for us.”

Trump always points out the massive trade deficit and issue of intellectual property theft by China. During the same visit, he also told reporters, “We must immediately address the unfair trade practices that drive this deficit along with barriers to market success: We really have to look at access, forced technology transfer and the theft of intellectual property -- which just by itself is costing the United States and its companies at least $300 billion a year.”

The President’s warnings continually proven to be justified, as in July, the FBI send out a serious warning to businesses related to GoldenSpy malware. GoldenSpy gives the China’s government access to the data of private businesses and is being forced on companies from America operating in China via tax software that is being mandated by the government. The businesses being forced to use the software are being told it is in relation to the value-added tax (VAT) payments that are due to the Chinese tax authority.

China would face what seems to be a completely different set of circumstances should Joe Biden win this November’s election. The presumptive Democratic nominee has already indicated that America would immediately begin to appease China again if he is elected by stating his intention to end tariffs put into place by the Trump administration that used strategically as a leveraging tool in new trade agreements with the “Red Dragon.”

A Biden presidency would certainly serve Chinese interests, as they enjoy a much friendlier relationship with not only Democratic candidate Joe Biden, but his son Hunter as well. Over much of the last decade, Hunter Biden has served on the board of a Chinese government backed private equity firm known as BHR Equity Investment Fund Management Company. According to an article from the New York Times, Hunter Biden purchased 10% of the company for about $420,000 in 2017.

Peter Schweizer’s book, Secret Empires How the American Political Class Hides Corruption and Enriches Family and Friends, also disclosed the fact that BHR was able to close a massive $1.5 billion investment deal through the Communist Chinese after Hunter flew to China on Air Force Two during his dad’s time as VP under Obama.

These are truly disturbing facts to consider as Americans face a decision between reelecting the America-First choice or ceding control back to the very profiteers that have been selling out America internationally for decades.

Julio Rivera is a business and political strategist, the Editorial Director for Reactionary Times, and a political commentator and columnist. His writing, which is focused on cybersecurity and politics, has been published by websites including The Hill, Real Clear Politics, Townhall and American Thinker.