Changes in the US administration's terminology regarding the 'Indo-Pacific' suggest a less confrontational approach towards China, potentially creating new diplomatic and strategic opportunities for Beijing in the Asia-Pacific region.

Beyond the diplomatic choreography of last month’s Xi-Trump summit, what are the structural implications of a less confrontational US-China relationship for the Asia-Pacific? The subsequent visits by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to India and US Secretary of Defence Peter Hegseth to Singapore in late May shed some light on the question. Both Rubio and Hegseth had accompanied Trump to Beijing. Perhaps most telling was the switch in the usage of a geographic term by the US administration. In.....