Washington Must Own up to Superpower Competition With China

The first step is for the U.S. to admit that China is a full-blown superpower.

With the Chinese Communist Party’s decision to remove term limits on the president, Xi Jinping has consolidated his power at the top of Beijing’s leadership. The move ensures Xi’s vision of China, more assertive and confident in its ability to push back on the United States in the Pacific, has won out. This pivotal moment drives home the fact that the two most powerful countries in the world, China and the United States, have crossed a dangerous threshold into superpower competition. But Washington’s failure to act on this new reality presents grave dangers. As long as this problem persists, the United States will find itself at a serious disadvantage in its ability to manage China’s rise…

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