Lyle Goldstein, director of Asia Engagement at Defense Priorities, a U.S. think tank, told RFA that he had long advocated for “more sustained, widespread, longer and deeper engagement between the U.S. and Chinese military establishments.”
“But what we have now is very narrow, only at the very top level, and extremely brief,” he said. “It’s better than a handshake, but not by much.”
“Such ‘in the spotlight’ engagements also tend to push the already truncated meetings into ‘gotcha’ moments where leaders aim for soundbites to impress the audience at home,” said Goldstein, a China expert who spent 20 years at the U.S. Naval War College.
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