America’s Goal Should Be a Democratic China

Ever since then-U.S. President Richard Nixon went to China in 1972, U.S. policymakers have sought above all to talk with their counterparts in Beijing, believing dialogue would lead to substantive cooperation on issues ranging from nuclear weapons to trade to climate policy. Yet today, as Chinese leaders stonewall their U.S. counterparts and the two countries’ militaries dance around each other in Asia, it might seem quixotic to ask: What future relationship does the United States even want with China?