Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, during the recent confirmation hearing for Kathleen Hicks, the Biden administration’s nominee for deputy defense secretary, pressed her on a phrase used by White House press secretary Jen Psaki—one that, in his words, “sent a shiver down my back.” The phrase in question was “strategic patience,” and it was used in reference to China. “Do you think that’s a good term that we should be using when the challenge and threat from China is immediate?”
Hicks was ready for the question. “I think our approach toward China is first to recognize that they are the pacing challenge for the defense community,” she said, “and that they present a serious alternative model, to be rejected, with regard to how they govern their society.” But she then added: “I do think there are opportunities for the United States and China to work together. … Even in the defense realm, there are confidence-building measures we should be pursuing so that we can prevent conflict between the two nations.”
