Reciprocity in U.S. Relations with China Should Be a Tool, Not the Whole Strategy

By Lucas Tcheyan & Sam Bresnick on August 4, 2020

Since the outset of the U.S.-China trade war, critics have castigated the Trump administration for its capricious approach to relations with Beijing. They have found fault in particular with Donald Trump’s flip-flopping on sanctioning ZTE, banning U.S. companies from selling to Huawei and then reversing course, and refusing to censure China for its abuses in Xinjiang and Hong Kong in order to preserve trade negotiations.

Sam Bresnick

on August 3, 2020

Sam Bresnick is a Senior Research Analyst and Assistant Editor at Carnegie China, where he conducts research on U.S.-China relations and Chinese foreign policy. He also plays a role in managing the organization’s research agenda. His articles have been published in Wired, Foreign Policy, The New Republic, and The American Prospect. Before joining Carnegie, Bresnick worked as a journalist in Colombo, Sri Lanka and as a teacher in Chiang Mai, Thailand. He received his A.B. in comparative literature from Brown University and his M.A. in Asian studies from Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service

Lucas Tcheyan

on August 3, 2020

Lucas Tcheyan is a Research Analyst at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy. His research focuses on Chinese foreign policy issues, including U.S.-China relations, Asia-Pacific security issues, and China’s Belt and Road Initiative. His writing has appeared in The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, The New Republic, and The Diplomat, among other publications. Prior to joining Carnegie, Lucas was an analyst at Goldman Sachs in New York City.