Retrench, Defend, Compete: Securing America’s Future Against a Rising China

Retrench, Defend, Compete: Securing America’s Future Against a Rising China

Author: Cato Institute February 21, 2026 Duration: 1:30:29
The debate about US policy toward China hinges on rarely stated judgments about the nature of the challenge. Is China mainly a revisionist or a status quo state? Should the United States keep all its international commitments amid China’s rise? What military posture can best defend those commitments? In his latest book, Retrench, Defend, Compete, Charles Glaser assesses these first-order questions and promotes an alternative US strategy toward China that would retrench from some US commitments in Asia and bolster others. Please join us as Glaser and Patricia Kim discuss the book and grapple with the range of US choices, from grand strategic judgments to specific foreign and military policies.

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