The Wrong Way to Stand Up to China

Aides to President-elect Donald Trump say that his precedent-shattering phone call with Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen on Friday was not a diplomatic blunder but a deliberate move to signal resolve against China. If so, he needs to rethink his strategy.

There are valid arguments for the U.S. to be more assertive toward China, and Trump has even articulated some of them. China's island-building efforts in the South China Sea, and its harassment of Japan in the East China Sea, are destabilizing. In many ways, the Chinese economy remains unfriendly to foreign competition, with certain areas closed off entirely. On North Korea, China has not done nearly enough to temper the regime's bellicose instincts.