The article argues that recent executive overreach and politicization have severely undermined established norms of U.S. civil-military relations. To restore professional standards, the incoming Congress must actively exercise its oversight powers, moving beyond mere criticism to demanding transparency in defense policy and personnel decisions. Key reforms include enforcing meritocratic promotion processes, requiring documented justification for senior officer removals, and preventing the partisan use of the military. These actions are crucial for bolstering public trust and ensuring the military remains a nonpartisan instrument of civilian control.
Trump–Xi summit will be about managing US–China rivalry, not resolving it
English Summary
The Chatham House analysis argues that the upcoming Trump-Xi summit will focus on managing the US-China rivalry through transactional, short-term agreements rather than resolving deep structural competition. Both leaders are primarily constrained by domestic political pressures—Trump's election cycle and Xi's economic stability—leading them to prioritize immediate economic levers like trade purchases and technology access. While the US agenda is narrow and improvisational, China is leveraging its economic statecraft, particularly rare earth controls, to maintain an asymmetric stalemate. For policy makers, the report advises looking past immediate headlines, emphasizing that sustained data and execution on commitments, such as trade fulfillment, are more critical than the summit's stated outcomes.
中文摘要
查塔姆學會（Chatham House）的分析指出，即將舉行的川普與習近平峰會，其重點將是透過交易性、短期協議來管理美中競爭，而非解決深層的結構性競爭。兩位領導人主要受到國內政治壓力（川普的選舉週期和習近平的經濟穩定性）的制約，這促使他們將重點放在貿易購買和技術准入等即時經濟槓桿。雖然美國的議程範圍狹窄且臨場應變，但中國正利用其經濟戰略（特別是稀土資源的控制權）來維持一種非對稱的僵局。報告建議政策制定者應超越眼前的頭條新聞，強調持續的數據和履行承諾（例如貿易兌現）的執行力，比峰會宣稱的成果更為關鍵。
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