Xi Jinping's focus on a long arc of Chinese history and managing a near abroad from a position of strength connects him more to powerful Qing emperors like Kangxi and Qianlong than to the revolutionary Mao. This comparison highlights his goal of restoring China's historical predominance.

China's primary strategic goal is to be the leading power in East Asia and the Western Pacific. While it lacks a current plan for global domination, its appetite could grow with success, and controlling this economically vital region provides a de facto form of global preeminence.

By publicly stating a desire to avoid the historical pattern of a rising power (China) clashing with a declining one (US), Xi Jinping strategically framed the future of the relationship as an economic partnership rather than an inevitable military conflict.

While Xi looms large, his foreign policy is largely consistent with the path set by his predecessors. He has capitalized on China's increased power to pursue established goals more intensely, but he has not radically changed the overall direction. Focusing only on him as an individual misses this continuity.

The US policy of engagement with China was viable only as long as China appeared to be on a path of reform and convergence. Xi Jinping's consolidation of power and abandonment of this reformist trend effectively killed the rationale for engagement, ushering in the current era of hostility.

China's current strategy is focused on becoming the dominant power in East Asia and the Western Pacific. While there is little evidence of a deliberate strategy for global domination, historian Odd Arne Westad warns that a great power's appetite often grows with its influence.

By hosting both Trump and Putin consecutively, Xi Jinping has reframed the "G2" concept. Instead of a fixed US-China partnership, China is now positioned as the central hub, capable of forming a "G2" with either the US or Russia, making Beijing the indispensable arbiter of global power dynamics.

Beijing's 30-year strategy anticipated that the U.S. would become more aggressive and unpredictable as its relative power declined. Events like the Trump presidency and recent global conflicts are seen as confirmations of this long-held view, not surprises requiring a strategic rethink.

Viewing China as a "rising" power is incorrect; it's a "reascending" one. For 70% of the years since 1500, China had the world's largest GDP. Its current trajectory is a return to its historical dominance, a framing that fundamentally alters the understanding of its global ambitions.