Washington’s one-two punch capturing Venezuela’s leader and then killing Iran’s in coordination with Israel has put Beijing on the back foot, according to former US officials who have helped craft China policy.
Matt Pottinger, who served in President Donald Trump’s first administration as deputy national security advisor, sees the Iran war as challenging what he calls a broader China strategy to use an “Axis of Chaos” to weaken America. That theory — popularized by Pottinger — places China at the center of a deepening partnership with countries such as Russia, Iran and North Korea.
“Beijing is the primary backer ...
