Jessica Chen Weiss: What Does China Want? | Foreign Affairs Interview

U.S.-China relations require a shift from zero-sum competition toward a sustainable equilibrium that prioritizes coexistence over containment. Jessica Chen Weiss, a professor at Johns Hopkins SAIS and former State Department official, argues that the recent bipartisan consensus on a hardline approach has proven shallower and less effective than anticipated, failing to significantly slow China’s technological or economic modernization. Instead of attempting to "beat" China, U.S. policy should focus on domestic innovation, securing critical supply chains, and establishing shared rules for transnational challenges like AI safety. China’s recent use of export controls on critical minerals demonstrates the risks of unchecked escalation, yet both nations remain deeply interdependent. Ultimately, success lies in managing this rivalry to prevent catastrophic conflict while harnessing the benefits of continued interaction, rather than pursuing a total victory that remains strategically elusive and economically costly.