[Brian Swartz]

I definitely agree that appeasing China isn't a good idea, but we've been doing that for decades and we're at the point where economically the consequences of not continuing to do so would not be tenable politically. Suffice to say they're far worse than gas prices going up a moderate amount. Xi operates as if China already has a long-term, secure, strategic advantage. He is not wrong.

1. Agreed.

2. Impossible. We can minimize this but it's a plain fact of life the some resources we need don't exist in the quantities we need them outside of trade with regimes like China. At a certain point it's like telling people living in the middle of a desert to farm. There are some things that simply can't be done.

3. Agree overall with the brain drain strategy, but in the short-medium term that's a losing strategy. The dual citizenship proposal actually is definitionally racist.

4. I think that sheer geographic proximity and more similar values ensure that most of Asia ultimately leans towards China, not us. This is for the same reasons that Europe's interests in Ukraine are different than ours.

5. Certainly, although I don't expect it'll help much.

Ultimately in the decades to come the US, China, and everyone else is going to be forced to accept that as important as our geopolitical rivalries seem, the word is interconnected to the point that it's inevitable for us to rely on each other and such concerns are pretty much details. Even if we're willing to tolerate the effects of climate change to the degree that we continue to focus on the present, oil demand continues to rise and oil discoveries are not keeping pace. That bill will come due eventually, and when it does our current squabbles are very likely to be seen as the good ole days.