Detente Still Makes Sense for US and China
Spy balloons aside, both sides would benefit from even a limited, temporary pause in hostilities.
New year, new China?
Photographer: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
As Chinese leaders prepare to host US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Beijing this weekend, they appear eager for a pause in hostilities. Their push for a rapprochement may be temporary and tactical. The US should reciprocate nonetheless.
China’s motives are obvious. Slumping property prices and pandemic lockdowns have driven gross domestic product growth to worrying lows. A devastating wave of Covid deaths has raised doubts about government competence. Nations across Asia and Europe are buying weapons, reorienting supply chains, and drawing closer to the US in a backlash to Chinese bullying. China’s leaders need time to regroup and focus on the economy, in the hope that visions of profit will entice many of these countries back into their orbit.