For the past quarter century America’s approach to China has been founded on a belief in convergence. Political and economic integration would not just make China wealthier, they would also make it more liberal, pluralistic and democratic. There were crises, such as a face-off in the Taiwan Strait in 1996 or the downing of a spy-plane in 2001. But America cleaved to the conviction that, with the right incentives, China would eventually join the world order as a “responsible stakeholder”.
The Economist: The end of engagement – how the world’s two superpowers have become rivals
Signs with the US flag and Chinese flag are seen outside a store selling foreign goods in Qingdao in China's eastern Shandong province on Sept. 19, 2018.
