A New Architecture for U.S.-China Engagement

U.S. and Chinese officials meeting during the second U.S.-China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue, at the State Department in Washington, November 9, 2018. *Credit: Ministry of National Defense*

The telephone rang and rang in Beijing on February 4, 2023. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was attempting to call China’s defense minister, Wei Fenghe, to explain why two American F-22 fighter jets had been dispatched to shoot down an errant Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina. Minister Wei (who has subsequently been replaced by Li Shangfu) never took the call. His spokesperson claimed that a hyper-reactive U.S. had not created “the proper atmosphere” for

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