Good evening. Two years ago, we sent veteran WSJ reporter Bob Davis out on a somewhat Herculean task: figure out what had gone right, what had gone wrong, and what comes next in the U.S. relationship with China. To do so, he sat down with some of the most important U.S. officials and policymakers involved — those ‘in the room where it happens’ — and our cover story this week is his analysis of (and the best quotes from) those dozens of interviews. Elsewhere, we have infographics on BAI Capital and its investments in China; an interview with Andreas Fulda on Germany’s failure to tackle the China challenge; a reported piece on China’s humanoid robot fever; and an op-ed from Paul Triolo on why the Taiwan debate is heading in a dangerous direction. If you’re not already a paid subscriber to The Wire, please sign up here.
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Broken Engagement
After his series of interviews with top U.S. policy makers of the last 30 years, Bob Davis reports on how and why the American approach towards China morphed from seeking closer ties to a desire for estrangement.
The Big Picture: Who is BAI Capital?
While Western investment in China slows, Germany’s Bertelsmann has an Asian fund that shows little sign of waning enthusiasm. This week’s infographics by Aaron Mc Nicholas take a closer look at BAI Capital, including mapping its corporate and shareholding structure.
A Q&A with Andreas Fulda
Andreas Fulda is an associate professor at the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Nottingham, where he specializes in EU-China relations, democratization studies, and citizen diplomacy. His new book, Germany and China: How Entanglement Undermines Freedom, Prosperity and Security, examines Germany’s dependence on China and its costs. In this week’s Q&A with Rachel Cheung, he talks about the need for a paradigm shift in Germany’s foreign policy and the difficulty of countering hybrid threats.
Andreas Fulda
Illustration by Kate Copeland
China’s Robot Fever
Chinese humanoid robots are working better and getting cheaper. But what are they good for? Rachel Cheung reports.
The Taiwan Debate Is Heading in a Dangerous Direction
Discussions within U.S. policy making circles take too little account of the devastating impact any conflict could have on the global chip industry, Paul Triolo argues.
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