The Long Game Review: Asia First, Then the World – WSJ

Today, as building yields to expansion, Mr. Xi is leading the country toward what he calls the country s National Rejuvenation a full recovery from the century of humiliation Western powers imposed on China before 1949. Mr. Xi has theorized since 2017 that Brexit and President Trump s distaste for multilateralism left the world ripe for Chinese hegemony. That s proven to be a miscalculation, given how the Trump administration broke from decades of toothless China policies and pushed for democracies to band together against the CCP threat. No matter who occupies the White House, our age, says Mr. Xi, is one that will see China moving closer to the world s center stage, and Mr. Doshi adroitly documents the general secretary s drive for a China-led world order built on Beijing-style techno-authoritarianism.

It all may seem hopelessly gloomy, but Mr. Doshi reminds us that the U.S. retains significant advantages for countering China s ambitions: an open and innovative society, true alliances and powerful economic, technological, and military resources. So, too, should accommodationist policies be discarded: Beijing s behavior bodes ill for a grand bargain and for efforts to achieve sustainable cooperative spirals. What he doesn t acknowledge is that the Trump administration initiated many of the policy directions he advocates.

Moreover, stopping the Party from vaulting China to sole superpower status will likely entail more whole-of-society boldness and sacrifice than most American leaders are comfortable admitting in public. It would have been good for Mr. Doshi to explore the ways ordinary Americans may have to bear the costs of victory: Is decoupling from certain trade relationships merited? Should American universities refrain from trading crucial STEM knowledge for Chinese cash under the guise of academic exchanges? He doesn t say. Nevertheless, President Biden is lucky to have Mr. Doshi and his rigorous thinking in his camp, because it s clear the CCP intends to play the long game even longer.

via www.wsj.com

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