1 October 2024

Washington’s Playbook for China Must Change

Evan G. Greenberg

Over the past four decades, I have built and managed businesses throughout Asia, including China. In my dealings, I met frequently with successive leaders, including President Xi Jinping in Beijing. Through that period, I have watched America’s approach to the region change from one presidential administration to the next. Some presidents emphasized regional strategy and others concentrated on China. Many presidents prioritized trade promotion. Washington’s increasingly bipartisan priority over the last decade has become shielding American workers from global competition. In the process, America’s strategic community has become enamored with viewing U.S.-China competition as a new cold war.

This emerging policy orthodoxy is wrongheaded and counterproductive. If the United States wants to create a more favorable balance of power in the face of China’s growing challenge, it will need to adjust its approach. America’s next president should redirect Asia policy to strengthen deterrence while driving regional economic integration. Absent such a shift, the United States risks undermining its own leadership and interests.

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