Trump has promised for years that he would stop China from “raping our country” through unfair trade practices. By 2023, the map had reversed: seven in ten trade more with China. But that bluster obscures a colder calculation: Chinese leaders believe that Trump’s struggle to dominate the world is actually aiding China. Today, while the U.S. tries to govern Venezuela and hobble Iran and Cuba, “China is focussed on winning the technologies of the future,” Doshi said. To China, Doshi said, “autocracies are considered perfectly legitimate, and technology is used to strengthen them.