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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    Drones, tweets, and the new US-China rivalry

    China has returned the US naval drone it seized five days earlier in the open waters of the South China Sea -- and got a lashing by President-elect Trump on Twitter. Trump has already irked America's rival superpower by breaking protocol and speaking with Taiwan's President, challenging the "One China" rule, and talking about trade tariffs.

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    KCRW placeholderBy Barbara Bogaev • Dec 21, 2016 • 1 min read

    China has returned the US naval drone it seized five days earlier in the open waters of the South China Sea -- and got a lashing by President-elect Trump on Twitter. Trump has already irked America's rival superpower by breaking protocol and speaking with Taiwan's President, challenging the "One China" rule, and talking about trade tariffs. Is the drone incident a test of an incoming administration bent on challenging China on trade, or a troubling sign of Chinese aggression in the South China Sea? Even some foreign policy experts skeptical of President Trump say it's high time Washington took a tougher stance with Beijing. So what does the incident tell us about the future of the US-China relationship with a Russia-friendly, unpredictable and confrontation-prone leader in the White House.

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    US-China relations in the Trump Age
    1. 1:22Police on manhunt for Berlin attack suspect
    2. 7:56Drones, tweets, and the new US-China rivalryYou’re reading this
    3. 41:35FedEx shipping empire faces a gathering storm
    • KCRW placeholder

      Barbara Bogaev

      radio journalist

    • KCRW placeholder

      Katie Cooper

      Producer, 'One year Later'

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/e23b2c8a5a7a4a05410f82a6104e445f/custom_thumbnail_large.png?h=250&fm=webp

      Gideon Brower

      Independent Producer

    • KCRW placeholder

      Sáša Woodruff

      Producer, 'To the Point'

    • KCRW placeholder

      Orville Schell

      Asia Society

    • KCRW placeholder

      David Wertime

      Foreign Policy

    • KCRW placeholder

      Robert Daly

      Wilson Center

      NewsNationalPolitics

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    US-China relations in the Trump Age
    1. 1:22Police on manhunt for Berlin attack suspect
    2. 7:56Drones, tweets, and the new US-China rivalryYou’re reading this
    3. 41:35FedEx shipping empire faces a gathering storm
    Back to To the Point