China Has Started Making the Same Mistakes as the Soviets
Fomenting a nuclear arms race, pursuing “wolf warrior” diplomacy and pushing your enemies together are all good ways to lose a cold war.
A very striking 100th birthday party for the CCP.
Photographer: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
It’s boom time for historical analogies in America’s China policy. Beijing’s test of an orbital weapon has been compared to a “Sputnik moment” by Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley among others. Analysts, including me, have argued about whether the U.S. and China are in a “new Cold War” and what lessons America can learn from the old one.
China, however, is moving in the opposite direction: It has been un-learning some of the most important lessons it gleaned from the U.S.-Soviet conflict. In doing so, it is testing whether it can still prosper strategically as it casts aside insights that served it well.