Sponsored by Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University

Good morning,

The United States is “not just abdicating its role in the current international system” but also “falling behind in the fight to define the next one,” Elizabeth Economy wrote in December. It’s a line I’ve been thinking about as next week’s summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping approaches. In the essay, Economy argues that Beijing is gaining advantages over Washington in the deep seas, the poles, cyberspace, and outer space—the arenas of competition that “will define the decades ahead.” It’s a sobering but crucial read on the eve of what might be the highest-stakes meeting between Trump and Xi so far.

Until next week,