China Is Much Weaker Than It Seems. That’s the Problem.

When President Trump visits Beijing this week, he should have the satisfaction of knowing that time, in the long run, is on America’s side. Unfortunately, that’s also the problem.

That’s the opposite of a conventional wisdom that holds that the United States is a fumbling status quo power, akin to Britain in the waning years of its empire, squandering its strength in sideshow wars (South Africa then; Iran now) while failing to grapple with its principal strategic and economic competitor (Germany then; China now). It’s this same conventional wisdom that has been telling........

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