These were some of the insights I got on Wednesday from Anja Manuel, a former senior State Department official who is executive director of the Aspen Strategy Group and Aspen Security Forum. The annual forum, which draws national security heavyweights from the U.S. and at least 20 other countries, is set to convene July 15-18.

“We really want to hear from the people that our foreign policy is impacting, rather than all Americans talking to each other,” she says.

This conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How do you see President Donald Trump's tariffs fitting in the broader context of U.S. competition with China - and not just as tariffs on China, but on countries that we're relying on to try to constrain China, like South Korea and Japan?

The U.S.-China competition is the key foreign policy issue of our day. China is not going away, as much as people talk about the Chinese economy slowing down. If you look at Chinese entrepreneurs in the tech sector, there's been a renewed enthusiasm and openness for the private sector in China.

They are gearing up for a trade conflict with the United States. I don't think they want this conflict. They want to come to a reasonable accommodation. But they're not going to just cave. So this is going to be a very difficult negotiation. I can imagine that you end up with some give on the Chinese side on intellectual property, because they're also innovating, so it's in their interest. Or perhaps things like access for our financial institutions.

This is going to be a difficult, hard-fought negotiation. Nobody wants a complete rupture, but neither side will get everything at once.

Continue reading at usnews.com