A week after voting concluded, the United States still seems more polarized than at any time in recent history. Yet one area of bipartisan consensus seems to be the need for a more competitive approach to China. Indeed, in their final presidential debate, Donald Trump and Joe Biden sparred over who would be tougher on Beijing.
As the U.S.-China competition heats up, one key question is whether this rivalry is primarily about power or ideology. Some prominent thinkers, like Robert Kaplan and Elbridge Colby, have argued that China poses a threat because of its growing power and that it would be a “catastrophic mistake” to view this competition primarily through an ideological lens.
