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The war with Iran has once again raised questions about Washington’s ability to prioritize its interests in East Asia and particularly to manage intensifying competition with Beijing. Furthermore, the war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have presented American and Chinese leaders with new challenges and potential opportunities, as they respond to the war’s global impacts. We asked five experts to address how the war is shaping competition between Washington and Beijing.Read more below.Zack CooperSenior Fellow at the American Enterprise InstituteBoth sides may be taking different lessons from the Iran War. Beijing appears to see it as another sign of U.S. decline and distraction. Chinese officials and experts assert that, although the U.S. military has conducted a highly complex and impressive military operation with few American losses, the Trump administration has struggled to translate this battlefield success into a strategic victory. They also note that — contrary to earlier guidance from key administration officials — the United States is once again expending lives and precious munitions in the Middle East, rather than prioritizing the Indo-Pacific region. Conversely, some experts in Washington argue that the operation has given U.S. forces greater experience integrating AI into their operations, while demonstrating that the U.S. military is the only one that can truly operate globally today. The war has also highlighted the U.S. economy’s remarkable resilience in the face of global energy disruptions. Therefore, Beijing and Washington appear to be learning different lessons, and both may see the war with Iran as a reason to think that their own strategy is working.Yun SunSenior Fellow and Director of the China Program at the Stimson CenterThe Iran conflict has attested to the resilience of China’s energy security. The decades of efforts to electrify its domestic economy and diversify its energy sources have paid off.