The US Is Wrong About China. Here’s How to Get Back on Track
Grabby mercantilism demands a response, but the greater focus should be on building strength at home.
Illustration: Matt Chase for Bloomberg Markets
In 1972, Henry Kissinger, paved the way for the normalization of US-China relations. The US national security adviser engineered a meeting between President Richard Nixon and Chairman Mao Zedong—a masterstroke of realpolitik. It peeled China away from the Soviet bloc, giving the US an edge in the Cold War.
More recently, President Donald Trump started a trade war against China and called Covid-19 the “kung flu.” President Joe Biden stuck with Trump’s tariffs and amplified them with sanctions on Chinese tech companies, confirming Beijing’s view that the US was attempting to block the economic rise of its rival.