{"id":2002,"date":"2026-06-13T14:37:28","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T14:37:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2002"},"modified":"2026-06-13T14:37:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T14:37:28","slug":"liccardo-why-china-is-winning-the-war-america-started-in-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2002","title":{"rendered":"Liccardo: Why China is winning the war America started in Iran"},"content":{"rendered":"
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One hundred days have passed since the American and Israeli missile strikes on Iran, and Donald Trump just announced the umpteenth, likely nonexistent, \u201cpeace deal.\u201d This gives us ample time to answer the simplistic \u2014 but not simple \u2014 question: \u201cWho is winning this war?\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Recipe: Strawberry, rhubarb and radish salad with strawberry vinaigrette<\/a><\/p>\n

My answer: China.<\/p>\n

Of course, China isn\u2019t fighting in Iran. And yes, they\u2019re still winning.<\/p>\n

Last week, the House of Representatives succumbed to a rare affliction of common sense: four Republicans joined me and my Democratic colleagues in approving a War Powers Resolution to end the U.S. military \u201cexcursion\u201d in Iran. The vote reflected deep questions about whether the U.S. could accomplish its wartime objectives.<\/p>\n

To be sure, the U.S. has demonstrated its military superiority, destroying Iran\u2019s navy and air defenses, decapitating its leadership, and prevailing in every engagement. But that\u2019s not winning. Wars are fought for political ends, Clausewitz reminds us, not merely to harm enemies.<\/p>\n

The day of the attack, the president trumpeted imminent regime change, yet Iran\u2019s hostile theocracy has tightened its grip, only now with a new tool of global leverage at its disposal: the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran continues to control hundreds of kilograms of enriched uranium and thousands of centrifuges. Trumpian claims of having \u201ctotally destroyed\u201d Iran\u2019s military appear overwrought; U.S. intelligence assessments confirm that the IRGC can operate more than 90% of its missile launch sites, and still possesses more than 70% of its prewar missile stockpile.<\/p>\n

A supposedly \u201cvanquished\u201d Iran has demonstrated no willingness to capitulate to any American demand, least of all in reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the closure of which has heaped economic burden on American and global consumers paying higher gas and grocery prices.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, U.S. taxpayers foot a wartime bill that may reach $1 trillion, and the war has taken thousands of civilian lives \u2014 including more than 100 school children in Minab lost in the horror of an errant U.S. missile \u2014 and 13 American servicemembers.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Yes, our military has prevailed in every battle. Yet American leadership has failed to win much else.<\/p>\n

China\u2019s has.<\/p>\n

The Iran war has vindicated China\u2019s national clean energy industrial strategy driving its commanding technological superiority in solar, batteries, wind, electric vehicles and nuclear energy. China\u2019s resilience and energy diplomacy has expanded its influence with \u2014 and the dependence of \u2014 the Philippines, Australia and other energy-starved U.S. allies. It has boosted exports of Chinese electric cars and other green products, which \u2014 combined with sanctions-evading trade \u2014 steadily accelerates the Chinese yuan\u2019s steady erosion of the U.S. dollar\u2019s dominance in global currency markets. Of course, China still suffers as an oil-importing nation that purchases 90% of Iran\u2019s exported crude, yet the White House puzzlingly loosened sanctions on the sale of Iranian oil this spring, to China\u2019s delight.<\/p>\n

Read more Good guys in high heels continue YWCA tradition in San Jose<\/a><\/p>\n

China further benefits from the war\u2019s erosion of the American military deterrent to Chinese ambitions in Taiwan and the South China Sea. The rapid depletion of U.S. missile and interceptor stockpiles has prompted the Pentagon to shift an entire carrier group, interceptor batteries and long-promised arms deliveries away from Asian allies to support the battle in the Persian Gulf.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Taiwanese, Japanese and Korean doubts about American resolve to protect them from Chinese hegemony grow as they observe the Trump administration\u2019s curious pattern of appeasement of China, despite the growing view of U.S. intelligence that China provides substantial assistance \u2014 components for dual-use military technology, military intelligence and possibly missiles \u2014 to \u2026 wait for it \u2026 Iran.<\/p>\n

Finally, Chinese Communist Party Chairman Xi Jinping has leveraged the war to elevate China\u2019s global standing as a peacemaker. Xi has decried the violence on both sides, mediated a ceasefire and has graciously tolerated Trump\u2019s pleas for help reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The world watched President Trump travel 14,000 miles to laud the magnificence of President Xi, while achieving non-binding, amorphous outcomes in a 48-hour grand summit that historians will describe as, \u201ccould have been an email.\u201d<\/p>\n

The war has given Xi a powerful argument to the world: China remains the only reliable superpower. Meanwhile, the U.S. grows ever more isolated in a world suffering from a war we started.<\/p>\n

While the U.S., Iran and Israel continue to endure the difficulties of battle, there are winners in this war. They\u2019re just not us.<\/p>\n

Rep. Sam Liccardo represents California\u2019s 16th Congressional District, which includes swaths of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. He is the former mayor of San Jose.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Backyard brawl in San Mateo ends in two arrests<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Xi is leveraging Trump’s quagmire to secure global energy and economic dominance, argues the Silicon Valley congressman.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2001,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion"],"yoast_head":"\nLiccardo: Why China is winning the war America started in Iran - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2002\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Liccardo: Why China is winning the war America started in Iran - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Xi is leveraging Trump's quagmire to secure global energy and economic dominance, argues the Silicon Valley congressman.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2002\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-13T14:37:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2002#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2002\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Liccardo: Why China is winning the war America started in Iran\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-13T14:37:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2002\"},\"wordCount\":801,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2002#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/4f3d35d229346e6483c0c333e96288e5.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Opinion\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2002#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2002\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2002\",\"name\":\"Liccardo: Why China is winning the war America started in Iran - 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