When the world's at stake,
go beyond the headlines.

A lot happens every day. Alliances shift, leaders change, and conflicts erupt. With In Brief, we’ll help you make sense of it all. Each week, experts will dig deep into a single issue happening in the world to help you better understand it.***Last week, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen visited the United States and met with U.S. House Speaker Rep. Kevin McCarthy in California. As Taiwan faces an ever-more-threatening China, the meeting was intended to cement the U.S. relationship with the self-governing island, which China claims as its own territory. The meeting drew the ire of the Chinese Communist Party, which launched military drills, including a simulated attack, around the island in its aftermath.President Tsai Ing-Wen, after the meeting, pledged to work with “the U.S. and other like-minded countries” in the face of “continued authoritarian expansionism.” What will this mean for Taiwan, for the United States, and for the U.S.-Chinese relationship? The experts weigh in. Zack Cooper Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute & Co-Host of the Net Assessment podcastTsai Ing-wen’s transit through the United States should not be a major news story. She declined to give a public speech in either New York or California. And Kevin McCarthy chose to meet her in California rather than fly to Taiwan. Leaders in both Taiwan and the United States have therefore shown substantial restraint. The ball is now in China’s court. If Beijing responds to this trip by ramping up coercive military or economic pressure, that will signal to Washington, Taipei, and others that Chinese leaders are unwilling to stabilize cross-Strait relations and are determined to ramp up pressure on Taiwan. Yun Sun Director of the China Program at the Stimson CenterPresident Tsai’s transit through the United States presumably will be her last in office. As the State Department has reiterated, the transit is routine and reflects longstanding