In the Cold War, the U.S. forced the USSR to prioritize military production over the civilian standard of living. China is now turning that same playbook back on America, but with a different weapon. By forcing the U.S. to sacrifice its energy stability just to stay in the race, China is using its energy surplus to create a compounding technological gap that America’s fractured, high-cost grid cannot overcome. Yet, the U.S. has no choice but to stay in the game just as the USSR did during the Cold War.