Our China problem isn’t strength: It’s distance

May 9, 2026, Opinion: "As President Trump prepares for a reported visit to China, Washington will focus on the signals coming out of the meeting. It should also be asking a more uncomfortable question: How much insight into China has the U.S. already lost? As academic exchange, business presence and research engagement with China have sharply declined, what has been lost? What is lost by the sharp reduction in Americans living and working in China, observing and feeding back a steady stream of insight into how that country is changing?"