China's economic cheating cannot be divorced from defense concerns

That China’s economic ambitions are tied to its national interest, including military power, isn’t surprising: That’s been the subtext of the ongoing trade dispute between Washington and Beijing since it began. That doesn’t make it any less troubling to see the link between unfair economic policies and the development of the People’s Liberation Army laid out plainly in a Defense Intelligence Agency report on China’s military power.

That report, released last week, opens with a note from DIA Director Robert P. Ashley explaining the impetus for the document and a brief explanation of shifting encounters with China’s military.