August 07, 2019

America should apply Cold War lessons to China: Compete hard, hold fast to our values

As global stock markets gyrate in response to mounting economic tensions between Washington and Beijing, the specter of a U.S.-China Cold War looms large. The intensifying rivalry between Washington and Beijing has already provoked a wave of anxiety among former officials, academics and pundits. Former U.S Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson warns that America’s tougher approach risks creating a new "economic iron curtain." Financial Times columnist Martin Wolf says it could turn “a manageable, albeit vexed, relationship into all-embracing conflict, for no good reason.”

The alarmists have it wrong. As China has become more repressive at home and assertive abroad, the United States needs more Cold War thinking — not less. It is imperative that Washington learn the lessons from the Cold War, both positive and negative, in order to rise to the challenge that Beijing poses to American security, prosperity and values.

Read the full article in USA Today.

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