In the nation’s capital, China-watchers have one year on their minds: 2027.
During intelligence briefings, congressional hearings, war games and watercooler conversations — across Hill offices, think tanks, the Pentagon and nondescript secure working spaces for “analysts” at the “State Department” — 2027 comes up over and over again.
That’s when American officials worry Chinese leader Xi Jinping might try to seize Taiwan by force. Congress wants to prevent that — or, at least, for the United States to be on better footing in the region by then.