What China’s Leader Wants

China is a rising power, but what exactly are Beijing’s global ambitions?

• Yesterday, US President Joe Biden and China’s leader, Xi Jinping, spoke for three and a half hours during a virtual meeting in order to diffuse growing tensions between the two powers.
• The US and China have been at odds over a number of matters, including the crackdown on democratic rights in Hong Kong and Chinese military intimidation of Taiwan.
• The talks didn’t settle any of these major issues, but may have helped an escalation of conflict — at least for now.
• Amid the tensions — and talk about a new Cold War between the US and China — we thought we’d pause to ask a simple question: What exactly do China’s Communist Party leaders want?
• The simplest answer is to expand Chinese power and influence around the world. But to what degree Beijing’s ambitions are an existential threat to Western democracies is hotly contested.
• In our readlist today, we explore differing perspectives on China’s ambitions, and bring you a bit of history to put it all in context.