How to deter China over Taiwan without poking Beijing in the eye | Zack Cooper

The way to deter China over Taiwan is to convince Beijing an invasion would fail, without needlessly provoking it. Zack Cooper of the American Enterprise Institute breaks down deterrence by denial, why Xi Jinping is more risk averse than Washington assumes, and how a purge of senior military leadership reshapes the calculus. He also explains why rare earth magnets have been China's sharpest coercive tool, and where US-China competition heads next. Chapters 00:00 | Why US-China trust stays elusive 02:30 | New chapter or old cycle 07:00 | Spiral model versus deterrence 10:30 | Arms sales political football 13:30 | Deterrence by denial explained 15:30 | Missile stockpiles and Taiwan 16:50 | Rare earth and economic leverage 19:45 | Xi Jinping's risk aversion 22:00 | The military purge risk 27:40 | Competition of systems ahead About the guest Zack Cooper is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, focused on US strategy in Asia, alliances and partnerships, and US-China military competition. He is a lecturer at Princeton University, chairman of the board of the Open Technology Fund, and a senior advisor at Beacon Global Strategies. He previously served in the Pentagon as special assistant to the principal deputy under secretary of defense for policy and at the White House, and holds a PhD in security studies from Princeton University. Resources mentioned Net Assessment, the podcast Zack co-hosts Strategy of Denial by Elbridge Colby Fareed Zakaria on rising and declining powers Connect with Zack Cooper:   / zack-cooper-6453241   American Enterprise Institute:   / american-enterprise-institute   Website: https://www.aei.org/ Subscribe for more conversations on the future of warfare, edge AI, and national security technology.