To stumble into cold war or hot war based on mostly bipartisan myths would be a historic tragedy.
The U.S.-China relationship has been dogged by several pervasive myths. Overholt wants to set the record straight. Credit: Lintao Zhang/AP Photo
The recent toughening of the U.S.-China relationship is inevitable. China has changed in multiple adverse ways — from Xinjiang to Hong Kong to the South China Sea — which necessitates a more demanding relationship. But recent U.S. policy has also made things worse, because it has been based heavily on myths. Below, I outline six of the most pernicious and damaging myths undermining U.S. policy.
Myth 1: President Trump said that cutting off all relations with China would save us $500
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