China: The Limits of Transactional Diplomacy

In this American Spectator article, Shaomin Li argues that President Trump’s May 2026 China visit exposed the failure of transactional diplomacy with Beijing and the deeper structural threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party.

• Li frames Nixon’s 1972 China opening as the beginning of a failed half-century American assumption that engagement, trade, and Western capital would gradually moderate Communist China.
• He argues that Trump’s 2026 visit may become historically significant not because it achieved a breakthrough, but because it revealed how little transactional diplomacy can accomplish with Beijing.
• The article says the real conflict is not merely trade, market access, or tariffs, but the institutional nature of the Chinese Communist Party’s “China Inc.” model.
• Li describes China as a state-directed system where corporations, universities, technology, supply chains, media, and capital can all be mobilized toward CCP strategic objectives.
• The visit reportedly focused heavily on economic cooperation while leaving largely unaddressed the central issue: whether the CCP is willing to abandon its totalitarian political-economic model.
• Li credits Trump for apparently not making major public concessions on Taiwan, while warning that Xi Jinping’s long-term focus remains geopolitical dominance rather than short-term trade deals.
• The article identifies four major unresolved flashpoints: trade imbalance, Taiwan, technology transfer, and CCP interference inside democratic societies.
• Li warns that American corporate interest in China, especially involving advanced technology and AI, risks strengthening a regime that ultimately threatens U.S. security.
• The piece concludes that Trump’s visit was a mistake, but also a useful wake-up call showing America still lacks a coherent long-term China strategy.

Read the full story: https://spectator.org/china-the-limits-of-transactional-diplomacy/