Commentary President Joe Biden will speak over the phone with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Nov. 15. The Chinese dictator might be on the other end of the line, but he probably won’t be listening. About a decade ago, Singapore was criticizing the U.S. government for some failing or other. This writer had occasion to ask an official at the U.S. Embassy why the Singaporeans weren’t also chastising the People’s Republic of China (PRC)—since the Chinese were doing the same thing as the Americans. He said he had asked, and the Singaporeans told him: “They [the Chinese] won’t listen to us.” The Americans should have figured this out long ago. China rarely listens to the United States. But it’s hard for zealous Americans to overcome their uniquely American conceit that if they can just talk with China about anything—for example, climate challenges—that will eventually establish a rapport that will then …
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