Political posturing shifted from “How to avert a debt crisis” to “How to get tough on China.” The squabble also reflected misgivings about China’s growing influence, as countries move away from the U.S. dollar and toward the yuan as a settlement and reserve currency.

With its internal contradictions, the “Biden Doctrine” is fostering Trump-style China wars, while its military overreach is paving the way to debt crises.

October’s shutdown of the US federal government elicited responses from Chinese leaders and businesses alike. These responses all seemed to send the same message – the US must get its house in order or China will not be investing in the United States much longer.

While the United States Congress once again tempted fate by approaching the nation’s debt limit, leaders of the international community expressed more concern than their American counterparts as the threat of a default threw financial markets into turmoil.

With 90 days left to bridge the ideological and partisan divide before another crisis erupts, the fuse on America’s debt bomb is getting shorter and shorter. As a dysfunctional US government peers into the abyss, China – America’s largest foreign creditor – has much at stake.

In his blog on global politics, economics, and pop culture at Foreign Policy, Daniel W. Drezner dispels another myth stymieing the building of US-China relations.