Deterrence to Dealmaking: Assessing America’s China Strategy

As President Donald Trump's second administration continues to recalibrate America's posture toward China, Ken Moriyasu joins a panel hosted by the Consortium of Indo-Pacific Researchers to examine whether Washington is pursuing a strategy of deterrence, transactional dealmaking, or some unstable hybrid of both. The May 2026 Beijing summit between President Donald Trump and Xi Jinping produced significant commercial gestures such as Boeing purchases, agricultural commitments, and rare earth cooperation. But as Moriyasu argues with the other analysts, without a binding joint statement, questions over Taiwan arms sales, Quad cohesion, and allied burden-sharing remain unresolved.