Freelance Journalist, former Wall Street Journal Senior Editor.
bob.davisreports@gmail.com
The former Trump official on why China is still the main target of the trade war, Beijing’s response so far and how tensions over Taiwan could play out.
https://www.thewirechina.com/2025/04/13/matt-turpin-on-trump-tariffs-and-taiwan/The academic and former Biden administration advisor on what she tried to achieve in government and what Trump is getting right and wrong about China.
https://www.thewirechina.com/2025/04/06/elizabeth-economy-on-what-the-u-s-should-want-from-china/A top official on China under President Biden talks about trying to achieve a ‘steady state’ in U.S.-China relations and whether Washington can pry Moscow and Beijing apart.
https://www.thewirechina.com/2025/03/23/rush-doshi-on-trump-taiwan-tariffs-and-bidens-legacy-on-china/Bob Davis reflects on his new ebook, "Broken Engagement," the five year anniversary of the ‘China virus’, and what to expect from Trump 2.0.
https://www.thewirechina.com/2025/03/14/the-day-engagement-died/The historian and strategist discusses how the re-elected president might handle key issues with Beijing, and why Covid changed his previous administration’s approach.
https://www.thewirechina.com/2024/12/22/miles-yu-on-the-past-and-future-of-trump-and-china/Our series of interviews with top U.S. policy makers of the last 30 years has revealed how and why the American approach towards China has morphed from seeking closer ties to a desire for estrangement.
https://www.thewirechina.com/2024/07/14/broken-engagement-american-policy-makers-china/The former national security advisor discusses the possibility of bombing Taiwanese chip fabs in any conflict, the fallout from January 6th and how a second Trump administration would approach China.
https://www.thewirechina.com/2024/06/30/robert-obrien-on-americas-greatest-foreign-policy-failure-since-the-1930s/The U.S. ambassador to Japan talks about China’s threat to the Philippines and other nations, shoring up America’s alliances in the Indo Pacific, and why he likes to send tweets trolling Beijing.
https://www.thewirechina.com/2024/06/09/rahm-emanuel-on-seeing-china-as-a-strategic-adversary/The former Commerce Secretary and ambassador to China talks about how his background shaped his approach to dealing with Beijing, the pivot to Asia and negotiating Chen Guangcheng's release.
https://www.thewirechina.com/2024/05/12/gary-locke-on-family-and-trade-ties-with-china/The Treasury’s top international official gives an inside-the-room account of the latest talks between Treasury Secretary Yellen and the Chinese leadership, including the U.S.’s efforts to get Beijing to address overcapacity and economic imbalances, how the two countries would deal with any future financial crisis, and whether China is deliberately letting its currency devalue.
https://www.thewirechina.com/2024/04/14/jay-shambaugh-on-getting-china-to-change-course/The recently departed deputy U.S. trade representative discusses why the U.S. needs to be on high alert when dealing with China, and how the Biden administration's approach has differed from its predecessor.
https://www.thewirechina.com/2024/04/07/sarah-bianchi-on-setting-the-trade-agenda/The former Speaker of the House talks about her long involvement with Chinese issues, why she visited Taiwan and how ‘big money’ interests have dominated the U.S.’s approach to China.
https://www.thewirechina.com/2024/03/17/nancy-pelosi-on-fighting-the-fight-over-china/The chief executive of Rand Corp talks about semiconductors, AI and the future of Chinese investment in the U.S.
https://www.thewirechina.com/2024/02/18/jason-matheny-on-tech-national-security-and-china/The head of U.S. Cyber Command under Presidents Obama and Trump on why it's been difficult to change China's behavior and the need for a new strategy on cyber.
https://www.thewirechina.com/2024/01/21/michael-rogers-on-chinas-cyber-threat/The former Defense Secretary under George W. Bush and Barack Obama talks about Xi Jinping's relations with the PLA, Taiwan and how the U.S. should deal with China and Russia.
https://www.thewirechina.com/2023/11/19/robert-gates-on-the-militarys-relationship-with-china/The Obama-era U.S. Trade Representative discusses the U.S.'s need to figure out what it wants from China economically, the problem with tariffs and his regrets over TPP.
https://www.thewirechina.com/2023/11/12/mike-froman-on-the-china-trade-question/The Clinton-era Treasury Secretary and banker discusses why investors should steer away from China and the issues with linking trade and human rights.
https://www.thewirechina.com/2023/09/10/robert-rubin-on-whether-the-u-s-should-want-china-to-prosper/#The economist and former Treasury official discusses China's currency policy, its influence over U.S. markets and the best way for Washington to respond.
https://www.thewirechina.com/2023/07/23/brad-setser-on-the-myths-and-realities-of-chinas-financial-power/#The Biden administration’s Asia chief discusses how its approach to China differs from the Trump era, Beijing’s support for Russia and its intentions towards Taiwan.
https://www.thewirechina.com/2023/07/16/kurt-campbell-on-talking-to-china-again/#The longtime U.S. Chamber of Commerce Executive VP talks about the rights and wrongs of China's WTO entry and how companies should deal with the current tensions in the U.S.-China relationship.
https://www.thewirechina.com/2023/06/25/myron-brilliant-on-businesss-role-in-dealing-with-china/The ambassador to China talks about the airing of grievances; the military-to-military stalemate; and if there is really a 'thaw' in U.S.-China relations.
https://www.thewirechina.com/2023/06/04/nicholas-burns-on-managing-the-competition-with-china/The Chinese economist discusses why a prosperous China is good for the U.S.; recent changes in the Chinese leadership; and how Beijing sees relations with Russia, the U.S. and Europe.
https://www.thewirechina.com/2023/04/23/yao-yang-on-why-china-and-the-u-s-need-to-talk/The former national security advisor talks about George W. Bush's approach to China, Jiang Zemin's response to 9/11 and 'Track Two' engagement with Beijing.
https://www.thewirechina.com/2023/04/02/stephen-j-hadley-on-keeping-china-relations-on-track/The former secretary of state talks about how the Trump administration changed U.S.-China relations; why he accused Beijing of genocide in Xinjiang; and why U.S. politicians should visit Taiwan.
https://www.thewirechina.com/2023/03/19/mike-pompeo-on-sounding-the-alarm-about-china/The longtime labor advocate and current Biden administration official talks about the U.S.'s lopsided trade relationship with China; enforcing the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act; and why labor rights problems in China are so systemic.
https://www.thewirechina.com/2023/01/08/thea-lee-on-tracing-supply-chains-and-protecting-workers/The business veteran and former State Department official talks about pushing back against Huawei; 'tech statecraft'; and fighting back when the market is no longer free.
https://www.thewirechina.com/2022/12/11/keith-krach-on-weaponizing-trust/The former Secretary of Defense talks about what went wrong during the 'rebalancing' effort; Xi Jinping's big mistake with ethnocentrism; and the 'Great Firewall of self-isolation.'
https://www.thewirechina.com/2022/10/02/ash-carter-on-the-pentagons-lonely-pivot-to-asia/The former U.S. Trade Representative, diplomat and World Bank president talks about his 40-year relationship with China, including refreshing the WTO deal; the danger of fortress economies; why engagement hasn't failed; and what he thinks about Xi Jinping.
https://www.thewirechina.com/2022/08/05/robert-zoellick-on-accepting-china-as-it-is/The lionized economist talks about alternatives and counterfactuals in the U.S.-China relationship; the lessons from both the Japanese and Russian experiences; and why truculence is never productive.
https://www.thewirechina.com/2022/07/17/lawrence-summers-on-the-principles-of-a-multipolar-system/A key figure in the Trump administration, the former reporter and Marine talks about the reality of the Chinese Communist Party's ambitions, the value of concrete actions vs. rhetoric, how Xi was flummoxed by Trump, and why the CCP just can't help itself.
https://www.thewirechina.com/2022/06/26/matthew-pottinger-on-flipping-the-u-s-china-paradigm-on-its-head/The chief U.S. negotiator when China joined the WTO reflects on the surprises and failures of that landmark deal and why she thinks the U.S. can stay preeminent, even if it's not predominant.
https://www.thewirechina.com/2022/05/08/charlene-barshefsky-on-why-engagement-with-china-is-more-important-than-ever/Freelance Journalist, former Wall Street Journal Senior Editor.
bob.davisreports@gmail.com