A Fourth Joint Communique Would Benefit U.S. & China

August marks the 42^nd anniversary of President Ronald Reagan’s Third U.S.-China Joint Communique. Reagan accomplished this feat during a period of intense debate over the United States’ relationship with China to avoid a cross-Strait crisis. While today’s debate appears to reject hard-nosed diplomacy, interest-based and clear-eyed diplomacy with China is needed to restore stability to the relationship. A fourth communique would be a bold and beneficial tool to reorient U.S.-China relations to focus on national interests and avoid conflict.