U.S. President Donald Trump¡¯s demand for China to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz will almost certainly be rejected out of hand. But it unwittingly touches a sensitive debate simmering among foreign policy thinkers in Beijing: Should President Xi Jinping start using his military to shape geopolitical outcomes?
China hasn¡¯t fought a major war in nearly half a century, and there¡¯s no sign it¡¯ll get involved in an operation so risky that even U.S. allies are staying away. Chinese state media dismissed his demands as an attempt to spread the risk ¡°of a war that Washington started and can¡¯t finish,¡± while Trump has requested a delay to his summit with Xi to give him time to deal with Iran.
¡°What if Iran attacks the U.S. Navy but accidentally hits the Chinese ships?¡± said Wu Xinbo, a scholar who heads Fudan University¡¯s Center for American Studies and has previously advised the Foreign Ministry. ¡°Why would we get mixed up in this mess? The risk is simply too high.¡±
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