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Kristian McGuire
Kristian McGuire
Kristian McGuire is an independent, Washington-based research analyst and associate editor of Taiwan Security Research. His main research interests include US–Taiwan relations, cross-strait relations, and East Asian regional security. His work has appeared in The Diplomat, Newsweek,The Interpreter, Asia Times, and TSR Weekly Report. You can reach him at kr[email protected] and follow him on Twitter @KrisAMcGuire.

The mercurial US president’s business background isn’t to blame for his growing list of contingencies in China talks. Rather, these conditions – from Hong Kong to North Korea and opioids – reflect core US interests and will outlast Trump.

The US president has his finger on the pulse of growing American dissatisfaction with their country’s trade relationship with China, a sentiment particularly strong among voters in key swing states.

If Kim Jong-un’s regime has no intent to give up its nuclear arsenal, or if it wants a more gradual process, then it’s better to find out now than at his meeting with Trump.

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If the nuclear crisis is to be resolved, Beijing, Washington and Seoul must demonstrate a unity of purpose when negotiating with the North Korean leader.

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