europe s greatest 19th century statesman was otto von bismarck whose strategy was always to have better relations with each of his adversaries than they had among one another. ever since richard nixon and henry kissinger drew china away from the soviet union in 1972 for decades the u.s. was closer to russia and china than they were to each other, but not anymore. there was talk in washington about attempting a reverse kissinger, an effort to win moscow away from beijing and the biden administration moved in that direction last year, but that was a naive misunderstanding of vladimir putin whose response has been to initiate the current crisis. perhaps what was needed was not a reverse kissinger, but simply kissinger. in other words, an effort to have a better working relationship with china. that in any event is what henry
other u.n. institutions, it is trying to play a more dominant role in them. in the past beijing has voted for and supported sanctions against rogue regimes like libya, iran and north korea, though that cooperative spirit has been waning, especially in recent months. it has used its veto on the u.n. security council far less frequently than russia or the united states. don t get me wrong, china poses a critical challenge to america, but much of what we need to do to combat it is in the realm of domestic policy, enacting measures that would unleash american innovation and competitiveness. europe s greatest 19th century statesman was otto van bismarck whose strategy was always to have better relations with each of his adversaries than they had among one another. ever since richard nixon and henry kissinger drew china away from the soviet union in 1972