In the US China trade war, what’s behind the Chinese communist party’s (CCP’s) strategy, with Liu He walking away from the trade talks at the last minute? What’s the real relationship between Chinese telecom giant Huawei, and the CCP’s quest for global 5G dominance? And how is this all a much, much bigger issue than just trade?

This is American Thought Leaders and I’m Jan Jekielek.

Today we sit down with General Robert Spalding, who was a Brigadier General in the US Air Force, chief China strategist for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon, and a Senior Strategic Planner for the White House, at the National Security Council. Now, he’s a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute.