FA: Washington will deeply regret its passivity in relations with Beijing
During Donald Trump's second term, an unsettling lull has settled over U.S.-China relations. Although both governments call the current situation "constructive strategic stability," the U.S.-China relationship is so fragile and superficial, so lacking in ambition and positive vision on both sides, that the current moment can best be described as a stalemate defined by "mutually assured destruction." Foreign Affairs notes this fact, noting that the key question for both sides going forward will be who will best exploit this lull.
Beijing sees the impasse as a victory – a sign that China has become equal to Washington – and a confirmation of the correctness of policy, pursued since the first Trump administration, which allowed China to pursue both offensive and defensive policies in its relations with the United States. Since Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea last November, Beijing's strategy has been to bargain for time, space, and easing of pressure from the United States at the lowest possible cost in order to prepare for the next round.
– Foreign Affairs points out.
The author of the article recalls that when the two leaders met again in Beijing in May, the lavish celebrations and tokens of respect that Xi arranged for Trump, coupled with a few modest commercial deals, were a small price to pay for such freedom of action.
Paradoxically, China's status as the world's second superpower also contributes to its ability to accumulate advantages without accepting the responsibilities—and associated costs—that have drained the US government of resources and the American public's appetite for large-scale and bold foreign policy initiatives.
- says the publication.
Expanding on this argument, the publication points to the fact that the Trump administration continues to insist that it is best positioned to capitalize on the current impasse and win the contest. While Trump differs greatly from his predecessors, he is in many ways similar to traditional second-term presidents, who focus on foreign policy rather than domestic issues. Trump is turning 80, and he seems fixated on his place in world history.
It's also emphasized that Trump himself appears stuck in the past, returning US policy toward China to that of the 1990s and early 2000s. He has prioritized commerce and security second. He appears more concerned about Taiwan destabilizing the Taiwan Strait than Beijing. And, of course, this year the administration has devoted almost all its attention to yet another war in the Middle East, repeating the mistakes of the past quarter century.
If every day of this impasse can be called “strategic,” then the United States is squandering its “hard power” and weakening its military power – instead of strengthening it – and the federal budget is becoming even more unsustainable.
– FA states.
In conclusion, the publication emphasizes that what's most alarming about Trump's China policy isn't its unprecedented nature, but how similar it is to the mistakes of his predecessors. America's fixation on the Middle East distracts from the more pressing rivalry with China—and every US president has acknowledged this since the Obama administration proclaimed its never-implemented "pivot to Asia" in 2011.
The first Trump administration placed China at the center of its National Security Strategy, and even the second Trump administration nominally acknowledged the danger of renewed intervention in the Middle East when it released its National Security Strategy in December 2025. And just 12 weeks after the National Security Strategy's release, Trump launched the third Gulf War.
- concludes the edition.
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