Clearly a modern day “great game” in East Asia is afoot, and Taiwan is at the center of it. The U.S. urgently needs to clarify its strategic approach to the region and identify a coherent whole-of-government and indeed whole-of society approach to dealing with China. Major U.S. companies are deeply invested in China, and our economies are utterly intertwined. A conflict would be a disaster for both nations. What is needed is a multi-pronged strategy that has a military component to create deterrence, especially in cyber, artificial intelligence, space operations, and maritime operations; a diplomatic approach to solidify the so-called “quad” alignment; a values-based strategic communication pillar to solidify support in the region for democracy, liberty, and human rights; an economic approach that emphasizes reciprocal market access for both sides and sanctions on intellectual property theft; and finally a tech structure that emphasizes international standards on everything from crypto-currency to privacy regulations.

The overarching approach of such a strategy is simple: confront where we must—on the issues described above—but seek cooperation wherever we can find it between the two nations. Some examples might be environmental and climate alignment; biomedical research and preparation for the inevitable next pandemic; and arms control talks on nuclear weapons and cyber tools. At a minimum we need straightforward and dedicated communication paths between senior U.S. officials and their Chinese counterparts. We had them with the Soviets in the Cold War, but they are not in existence today. Alongside such “hot lines,” we need detailed protocols describing how our military forces should interact when they encounter each other—staying a set number of miles apart, restricting overflights without warnings, prohibiting turning on fire control radars.

Crisp, professional signaling and communications to Beijing are essential, especially in regard to Taiwan. Our nominated Ambassador—career diplomat and deeply experienced foreign service leader Nicholas Burns—cannot get to China soon enough. And above all, Dr. Campbell’s China strategy needs to be launched at hypersonic speed—right now we need strategic ideas as much as we need missiles. The good news is that there is broad bipartisan agreement on the immediacy of the challenges—now we need a plan.