HQ-19 anti-ballistic missiles during a military parade in Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Sept. 3, 2025. Greg Baker/AFP via Getty ImagesCommentary

As the sun rises on a new Trump-era geopolitical chapter, Washington confronts a defining choice: Will the United States view the People’s Republic of China and its regnant Chinese Communist Party through the rose-colored lens of transaction and diplomacy, or will it soberly recognize Beijing as the United States’ foremost geopolitical adversary in a multigenerational cold war?

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