The US’ future policymakers are questioning the standard ‘China threat’ playbook

For years, the conventional wisdom in Washington was that America’s China policy was moving in one direction: tougher.

But walk into a classroom at Georgetown, Rice or another US university where the next generation of diplomats and foreign-policy professionals is being trained, and the picture looks less settled.

A generation that has grown up with China’s rise is increasingly sceptical of the idea that Beijing should be treated primarily as America’s great strategic rival.

That matters because...