from WNYC Studios. I'm Brian Lehrer. This is my daily politics podcast. It's Tuesday, May 30th.

An article on Slate reminds us that some U.S. military officers are predicting we will be at war with China in the

next few years. But it cites as good news this statement by President Biden last week at the

G7 summit in Japan about the increasing belligerence on both sides, maybe getting ready to tone

down.

We should have an open hotline.

At the Bali conference, that's what the President Xi and I agreed we were going to do and meet on.

And then this silly balloon that was carrying two freight cars worth of its fine equipment

was flying over the United States, and it got shot down,

and everything changed in terms of talking to one another. I think you're going to see that

begin to thaw very shortly. I think you're going to begin to see that, or I'm going to, I think

you're going to see that begin to thaw, very shortly,

said President Joe Biden.

Republicans, of course, running for president seem to be falling all over themselves,

trying to be tougher than the next person on China.

Ron DeSantis, did you hear this, even signed a bill this month with all the other things

Ron DeSantis did, this barely made national news, prohibiting citizens of China from buying land

in parts of Florida. His press release on the signing says Governor Ron DeSantis cracks down on

communist China. So with all that is backdrop. With us now is the writer of the Slate article

on Biden and China, Fred Kaplan, who covers military affairs for Slate in his column called War Stories.

He is also the author of books, including his latest, The Bomb, President's Generals and the

Secret History of Nuclear War. Fred, always good to have you. Welcome

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