America Must Rally Europe and Asia Against Chinese Aggression

Chinese autocratic and mercantilist aggression are global in intent and impact, necessitating a reciprocal response. Politicians and pundits who present a binary choice between the U.S. commitments to the Indo-Pacific and the trans-Atlantic—including support of Ukraine and welcoming Finland and Sweden in NATO—misread the China challenge. A proportional and prudent response to Chinese (and Russian) revisionist designs calls for resolute alliances in the Northern Hemisphere across the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific oceans and mutually beneficial and respectful relations with the Global South.

During the Cold War, the United States prevailed over the Soviet Union on the strength of its free world alliances. Global alliances are even more pertinent in defeating Chinese Communist autocracy. The United States, during the Cold War, enjoyed relative military parity and overwhelming economic superiority over the Soviet Union. Consequently, the Soviets lost the arms race with America. With China, the United States shares relative economic parity and momentary military advantage that is unsustainable unless the United States also maintains economic superiority over China. This calls for strengthening the U.S. economy and military and its economic and military alliances.