The 9/11 attacks diverted U.S. attention for a decade, while making Washington more dependent on Chinese diplomatic support in the war on terror. The Obama administration then sought to recoup lost ground with its “pivot to Asia,” only to be whipsawed by the rise of ISIS and another multiyear war in the Middle East. China remained the problem of tomorrow, or perhaps a generation hence, because today’s problems were so consuming. “China is like that long book you’ve always been meaning to read,” a U.S. intelligence official commented, “but you always end up waiting until next summer.”
