MUNICH, Germany ¨C Is sound, forward-looking foreign policy still possible? Talking to the statesmen, diplomats, intelligence operatives and scholars gathered at the last week, I had my doubts.
Consider U.S.-China relations. It was only just over a month ago that China¡¯s vice premier, Liu He, gave a conciliatory that some observers saw as part of a aimed at the West. After that, many hoped that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken¡¯s to China last month would reduce tensions further, building on Liu¡¯s own recent with Secretary of the Treasury , as well as Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden¡¯s in Bali in November.
It is precisely because they are leaning into a souped-up competition that both sides seemed eager to put a ceiling on their rivalry, recognizing that more frequent contact is needed to guard against misunderstandings or accidental escalations. But then came the great , which ended any notions of detente. As the large dirigible drifted across the United States, the Biden administration tried to hold its nerve; but public opinion soon exerted itself on national-security decision-making.
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