When China was granted permanent “most favored nation” status in 2001, the Berlin Wall had fallen just over a decade earlier. The consensus in Washington was that just as communist Russia had fallen after being exposed to the wealth and freedom of American capitalism, so, too, would the Chinese Communist Party slowly lose its grip as it did business with U.S. corporations.

This was not an unreasonable belief at that time, and those who believed it should not be faulted. Two decades later, however, it is clear this consensus was wrong. The Chinese Communist Party has not lost its grip on the country. Instead, it has become more authoritarian, more ruthless, and more ambitious about expanding its power.