The Pentagon has identified a new threat: Confucius Institutes.
First refrigerators. Then cranes and garlic. Now the Confucius Institutes. The National Security threat list keeps growing. Somewhere, a Mandarin textbook is presumably being grilled under a bright light.
Official data showed that by the end of 2025, 510 Confucius Institutes had been established in 164 countries and regions, bringing people closer through Chinese-language learning, opportunities to explore Chinese culture and greater understanding across cultural divides.
Turning classrooms into security threats takes a remarkable imagination. It also spares officials the trouble of distinguishing curiosity from conspiracy.
You might think understanding China would help America navigate its relationship with China. But seeing an enemy behind every blackboard only turns ignorance into official policy.
Nothing projects confidence quite like treating a beginner's vocabulary list or paper cuttings as an enemy arsenal.
Produced by Xinhua Global Service■
