Beijing's Trade War Strategy

"Beijing is eager to convert its growing economic clout into military power," notes William R. Hawkins, Senior Fellow for National Security Studies at the U.S. Business and Industry Council. The arrangement proposed by Li would require that Washington "remove security restrictions on the sale of weapons and military technology to China," he continues. "Beijing would certainly shake loose billions from its massive foreign exchange reserves if it could get access to the innovations that have given America's armed forces capabilities unmatched anywhere else on the planet."