“The authors also interpret PRC statements as demonstrating continuity of intentions. Yet, even if one believes that Beijing’s goals are enduring and unchanged, its operational tempo and risk tolerance have risen as its capabilities have grown. The overt clashes with its neighbors, which are seriously overlooked in the article, show this well. Furthermore, the shifting balance of capabilities means that many countries in the region are no longer as sanguine or uninterested as the article posits. Bluntly, armed conflict in the Taiwan Strait—or in any of the PRC’s various outstanding disputes—would shatter the regional status quo and have massive global spillovers.”

Andrea Ghiselli (T.wai & University of Exeter) is the author of a letter to the Editors of International Security in response to the widely discussed article “What Does China Want?” by David C. Kang, Jackie S. H. Wong, and Zenobia T. Chan, published in the summer 2026 edition of the journal.

Andrea Ghiselli

Research Fellow

Andrea Ghiselli is a non-resident Research Fellow at T.wai, and serves as the Head of Research of the ChinaMed Project. He is also a Lecturer in International Politics at the University of Exeter.