Mike Waltz Photographer: Bridget Bennett/Bloomberg 
China is the US’s “greatest rival”, Florida congressman Mike Waltz wrote days before the election in an Economist article that was co-authored with Matthew Kroenig, a former Pentagon strategist.
“The next president should act urgently to bring the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East to a swift conclusion, and finally focus strategic attention where it should be: countering the greater threat from the Communist Party,” they wrote.
Trump has chosen the Florida Representative to be one of his closest aides, Bloomberg News reported earlier, citing a person familiar with the matter. The move would elevate the former Army Green Beret and combat veteran of Afghanistan to a role coordinating foreign policy in the West Wing and briefing the president on global crises.
Read More: Trump Picks Combat Vet Waltz as National Security Advisor
The selection of Waltz adds to expectations that China and the US will again have a fraught relationship during Trump’s second term in office. The two sides fought a trade war starting in 2018, and tensions included episodes that saw the tit-for-tat closure of consulates.
In the Economist article, Waltz and Kroenig also wrote that “America is not building armed forces to deny a Chinese attack on Taiwan. It has cut defence spending in real terms, allowing the balance of power to shift in China’s favour.”
“A new administration should increase defence spending and revitalise the defence-industrial base to make sure its armed forces are clearly capable of denying a Chinese attack on Taiwan,” they wrote.