China

While Republicans remain focused on limiting China's rise, a majority of Americans now favor a policy of cooperation and engagement with Beijing.

Still, the US public prefers to maintain the status quo across the Taiwan Strait rather than risk military confrontation with Beijing.

Unique parallel surveys find both publics agree trade and international engagement benefit their countries, but to different degrees.

Other neighboring countries, including Japan, India, the Philippines, and Vietnam, are viewed less favorably.

The Iran war’s ripple effects risk obscuring festering divisions within the Southeast Asian bloc—most notably its inability to develop a region-wide approach to Washington and Beijing.

The Iran war is presenting the greatest test yet of the limits of America's power in an increasingly multipolar world.

With Washington prioritizing deal-making over competition, Beijing’s confidence is growing—and the risk of miscalculation is rising. Could China use America’s time-out from strategic competition to surpass it economically, technologically, and geopolitically?

The recent Trump-Xi meeting resolved none of the underlying tensions between Beijing and Washington. It merely kicked the can down the road.