For decades on end, bipartisan elites in Washington sold their fellow Americans down the river when it comes to the thorny issue of a rising China. But instead of "economic liberalization" leading to "political liberalization," as we were so often promised, Americans ended up simply giving China the rope with which to hang ourselves. This we did in the name of economic "efficiency," consumer "surplus," price "minimization," and various other rote theoretical platitudes. But the reality has been anything other than the rosy economic and geopolitical success that was promised. Like Mary Shelley long ago, the United States has created a monster.

That monster is the rogue superpower that is the modern People's Republic of China, which is ruled in authoritarian uniparty fashion by the Communist Party of China. None of the American elites' predictions came true. Instead, all Americans and Westerners have succeeded in doing is strengthening China's economic and military hand, emboldening Beijing to potentially launch a full-scale invasion of Taiwan while we simultaneously remain as hopelessly addicted as ever to Chinese, wares, technologies, and not-so-thinly-veiled spyware.

What could possibly go wrong?

There are few issues on which Donald Trump has been more outspoken, over the decades, than the rise of China. He has long been a clarion voice sounding the alarm as loudly as possible on this threat. And now, Trump's punitive tariffs on the Chinese cheaters are just the remedy that the doctor ordered. Far too many Americans have had their lives, livelihoods, and businesses upended by a Communist China that simply does not play by the rules. Now, it is Trump's turn to force the hands of the Chinese and make them play by the rules if they do not choose to do so voluntarily. He is the right man at the right time.

Have little doubt: China will blink first in this long overdue, and righteous, 21st-century superpower trade war. China is the structurally weaker country, and it has the far more vulnerable economy. The Chinese real estate market is a veritable disaster. Chinese economic growth is sluggish. And because they have become so heavily reliant upon American exporters to feed the Beijing economic beast, Chinese elites know where their bread is buttered. Perhaps the spigot is finally off, and true American-Chinese economic "de-coupling" is in order—that would certainly be a laudable development. But at minimum, the current—that is, pre-"de-coupling"—situation provides Americans with a tremendous amount of leverage. All we have to do is actually use that leverage.

Xi Jinping is in many ways evil, but he is no dummy. Expect China to propose a viable trade off-ramp before things get too ugly. And if he successfully wins the Chinese trade war, Trump will have saved countless American jobs, livelihoods, trade secrets, and lives themselves. It will be a historic victory. Call it the art of the deal—or something.

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Our additional highlighted recent Newsweek op-eds include selections from Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.,), Mark Serrano, and Mark Joseph.

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