Of course this has NOT worked out. But I'm not so sure he was wrong to think it would at the time. A lot of evidence had suggested that trade and interconnectedness fuel peace and cooperation. It *usually* does. China has been an exception. https://twitter.com/ZaidJilani/status/1303542515841236994 …
It DID lead to peace and cooperation. The United States elevated normal relations with China so high that we began peacefully cooperating with them regardless of all other factors. The error was the assumption that China would conform to us and not the other way around.