By Daniel Davis
The United States and China conducted a record $690 billion in combined trade last year. Protectionist policies will result in lower figures for 2023, but China will remain a top American trading partner. This intertwined trade relationship highlights that America has everything in the world to gain from smart, tough and effective competition with China—and everything to lose if relations deteriorate to the point of direct armed conflict.
War with China is neither inevitable nor necessary, but actions and policies currently being pursued in both Beijing and Washington are mindlessly drifting towards a clash.
This piece was originally published in The Hill on September 14, 2023. Read more HERE.