U.S. and Chinese national flags fly, in Shanghai, China. (Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg)
On May 20, 2020, the White House issued what history may record as one of the most important foreign policy and defence reports since 9/11: The United States Strategic Approach to the People’s Republic of China. Nowhere across its 16 pages is the term ‘Cold War’ mentioned. Rather, “strategic competition” is the buzz phrase repeated four times. There are two oblique references to India. The Chinese Communist Party is mentioned 36 times.