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This is Fresh Air.

I'm Dave Davies in for Terry Gross.

When President Biden met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Monday, one of the many

things they agreed they disagree on is the status of Taiwan.

Differences over Taiwan go back decades, but in recent years militant statements from Chinese officials

and increasingly aggressive maneuvers by the Chinese military have raised fears that China might actually invade Taiwan,

potentially drawing the United States into a war with another nuclear power.

Our guest, New Yorker Staff writer Dexter Filkin, says that in war games staged by US Commander several times a year,

scenarios emerge in which a war over Taiwan leads to US attacks on the Chinese mainland and Chinese attacks on Alaska and Hawaii.

Filkin's chronicles the fascinating history that led to the current confrontation and analyzes the prospects for war and peace

and a new article titled A Dangerous Game over Taiwan.

Dexter Filkin's is a veteran foreign correspondent who's reported from many conflict zones.

He shared a Pulitzer Prize in 2009 with the team of New York Times journalists for their coverage of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Filkin's is author of the book The Forever War and the winner of two George Polk prizes.

He joined the New Yorker Staff in 2011.

Dexter Filkin's welcome back to Fresh Air.

Hi, thanks so much.

Let's start with the meeting this week between President Biden and Xi Jinping and Monday.

Warm handshakes, no treaty signed, no joint communique, no resolution of anything.

This was regarded as hopeful by some. What's your take on what we saw?

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