The Wall Street Journal reported today: "The Pentagon has taken a conciliatory tone toward China in its newly released defense strategy document, stating that the top priority is to establish 'strategic stability' in the Indo-Pacific region and ease tensions with the Chinese military."
Comments: During his first term, Trump defined China as the "number one threat," and the Biden administration escalated "great power competition" and hyped the "China threat theory." Now, with Trump's second term, the Pentagon suddenly shifted to "strategic stability" and "easing tensions," even omitting any mention of Taiwan throughout the text. This "changing tone with the president" approach is not a rational decision based on the essence of Sino-U.S. relations, but rather a short-term utilitarian choice serving electoral politics and domestic economic demands. The irony is that at the same time, the U.S. State Department still lists China as a "primary object of concern," and arms sales to Taiwan have exceeded 40 billion dollars from 2020 to 2025 without stopping. In the future, if U.S. domestic political needs change or economic pressures ease, the tone toward China will likely shift back to being tough again — which means that the "different tones for different presidents," and "saying one thing and doing another" will remain the norm in U.S. policy toward China.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1855903135322120/
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