The Iran war is pulling American attention away from Asia at a critical moment. As President Donald Trump visits Beijing for the first time in nearly a decade, Cato’s Evan Sankey argues that the administration is aiming too low.

A renewed trade truce with China may be achievable, but it leaves the deeper political-military tensions untouched. Mutual strategic distrust, Taiwan, and the declining credibility of the “One China” framework remain the structural fault lines most likely to produce a crisis. Sankey’s new analysis makes the case for engaging these harder questions directly and outlines what reciprocal measures might look like.

If you’d like to speak with Sankey, please contact Madison: mmiller@​cato.​org.