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The chaos that defined the Trump administration came at a time when the US-China relationship was already entering a particularly unforgiving period. When the Trump administration unexpectedly came to power, US-China relations were at the center of three tectonic trends: the rise of nationalism and popul ism due to the unequal distribution of benefits from globalization; the rise of emerging and foundational technologies that have altered both daily life and the way governments, companies, and people interact; and the fraying of a world order that was built for an era when the United States was the only superpower and the spread of democracy everywhere seemed inevitable. Over the course of Trump’s presidency, awareness inside the US government and around the country steadily grew that China’s rise and the Chinese government’s strategy play into all three of those dynamics. Put simply, a China that is militarily expansionist, economically aggressive, internally repressive, and increasingly interfering in democratic societies poses enormous challenges for the United States along with all of our allies, friends, and partners. The effects are already being seen in our national security, our investments, our industries, our schools, our media, and even our elections.
Chaos Under Heaven
Josh Rogin
Acheson had arrived in time for as tumultuous a tour as any secretary of state ever endured, perhaps the single most difficult four-year stretch in the country’s history in terms of its foreign policy. Even as he was taking office, Chiang’s government was collapsing on the mainland, and the Generalissimo himself was fleeing to Taiwan. (Acheson was sworn in on the very day that Chiang left China for his new island home. “We passed, I coming in, Chiang going out,” Acheson later noted with mordant humor.) Things got even worse that fall. Within the space of a few weeks the Soviets tested their first atomic weapon and the Chinese Communists took power in Beijing, announcing the creation of their new government, anathema to a vast segment of the American populace. Both of these events not only signaled a changing global security balance but sent psychological shock waves through the American political system. The United States was no longer the only member of the atomic club, and at virtually the same time, China, a beloved country to millions of Americans because of the missionary outreach programs there, the country that was supposed to be our great ally in Asia, had gone Communist.
The Coldest Winter
David Halberstam
Feedback as Collaboration Providing valuable feedback and insight can prove to be as difficult as writing the narrative itself. Two of the most cherished gifts I (Colin) received in my career are pens, given to me by people whose narratives I had read and commented on. (I would typically give a printout of the narrative with my handwritten notes on it to the presenters after the meeting.) Both people told me that my comments had played a key role in making their businesses successful. I say this not to boast but to provide evidence that when the reader takes the narrative process just as seriously as the writer does, the comments can have real, significant, and long-lasting impact. You are not just commenting on a document, you’re helping to shape an idea, and thereby becoming a key team member for that business.
Working Backwards
Colin Bryar and Bill Carr
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