But if there was any hope in Beijing that Mr Trump might be softening his approach to China in the military domain, the NSS put those hopes to rest.
On Taiwan, the document noted that deterring any conflict over the island China sees as its own is a priority. On the South China Sea, it stated that “strong measures must be developed along with the deterrence necessary to keep those lanes open, free of ‘tolls,’ and not subject to arbitrary closure by one country”.
The NSS laid out a new, stark vision for the US’ role in the world, injecting an “America First” ideology and a renewed emphasis on the Western Hemisphere.
THE VIEW FROM BEIJING
But China always thinks beyond the current person in the White House. While changes in US national security strategy undoubtedly influence China’s thinking, they do not always lead to wholesale shifts in perceptions.
So, how the NSS shapes Beijing’s thinking on the balance of power and foreign policy should be considered within a larger and longer narrative.
The notion that “the East is rising and the West is declining” (东升西降) has become embedded in some parts of China’s strategic discourse, as my colleagues examined in the Asia Society’s China 2026 report, published by the Center for China Analysis. While not uniformly held, Beijing believes that time is on its side, that the US will face divisions domestically and with allies and that China may well outpace the United States in comprehensive power.
Source: CNA
