2025-04-22
9 分钟Hello, it's Alice here.
I'm the co-host of Drum Tower, our weekly podcast on China.
You're about to hear an article from the latest edition of The Economist.
I hope you enjoy it.
Even before Donald Trump's tariff turmoil, it was hard to discern a clear China strategy.
With decisions depending largely on presidential whim,
his foreign policy advisers seem to have split into warring tribes.
To use a shorthand common in Washington,
the primacists seek to re-establish America's dominance in the world,
taking on all threats.
The prioritizers think America can handle only China and should abandon Ukraine.
And the restrainers want to focus on only the homeland, avoiding future wars.
Since April 2, Mr Trump's trade war has sown further confusion.
But whatever his own views, one thing seems increasingly clear.
Conventional China hawks, whether primacists or prioritizers,
are losing ground in the battle for influence.
Though overshadowed by the trade drama,
among the strongest indications of this trend was the firing or reassignment of six National Security Council or NSC officials,
which became public on April 3rd.
That was apparently prompted by Laura Loomer,