The United States has incentives to outsource the production of weapons, as its domestic capacity is insufficient to meet its needs. Co-production benefits others. But it’s also likely to lead to proliferation across borders, create regional security tensions and increase the risk of conflict.

The arms race between China and the United States is escalating. Though the Chinese government declines to negotiate strategic arms limitations with Washington, the two parties could discuss measures to increase strategic stability.

Both countries know that confrontation only leads to a dead end in the long run. A mix of cooperation and competition remains the norm that has worked for both countries in the past. But it’s difficult to strike a balance, and competition is likely to overwhelm cooperation, as it always has.

The 2018 U.S. Nuclear Posture Review makes a number of claims about growing Chinese military capabilities and the need for even greater investment in nuclear modernization to counter these supposed threats. Benjamin Reynolds analyzes the key points of this document that relate to China.

The author argues that the agreement to deploy THAAD to South Korea may mark the first major step in a slow shift towards more strategically mandated Chinese missile development.