New book urges a middle path in US-China trade

By AI, Created 3:31 PM UTC, May 26, 2026, /AGP/ – Timothy Brantingham’s new book argues the U.S. should compete with China without sliding into total economic decoupling. The book, now out from Advantage Books, frames trade as a rules-based bridge rather than a weapon and pushes for “competitive coexistence” on issues from supply chains to climate change.

Why it matters: - Brantingham’s book enters a heated debate over how the U.S. should respond to China’s economic rise. - The book argues that trade policy should protect U.S. security and technology while still preserving room for cooperation. - The message lands at a time when tariffs, supply chains and global competition remain central to U.S.-China tensions.

What happened: - Timothy Brantingham published Confessions of an Outsourcer: An Insider Examines the Openings, Closings, Fortunes, and Fallout of the China Trade through Advantage Books. - The book is now available at major retailers nationwide. - Brantingham describes the book as an insider’s look at U.S.-China trade, tariffs and globalization. - The author argues that the U.S. should “work with China as it is,” rather than treat trade as a zero-sum fight.

The details: - Brantingham says the U.S. should negotiate where possible, defend core interests where necessary and build rules that make mutual benefit possible. - The book says trade should become “a bridge” instead of “a weapon.” - Brantingham pushes back on simplistic views of China as either a monolithic threat or an “Evil Empire.” - The book also acknowledges real U.S. concerns, including intellectual property theft, state subsidies and damage to the American middle class. - Brantingham brings three decades of experience in supply chain management and US-China trade. - He was born and raised in Taiwan in a family with three generations of Quaker missionaries focused on China. - Brantingham is fluent in Mandarin and has lived in mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan and the United States. - He now lives in Honolulu. - His academic background includes degrees from William & Mary, the University of Hong Kong and Oxford. - Advantage Books is an imprint of Advantage Media.

Between the lines: - Brantingham is arguing for competition without blanket confrontation. - His “competitive coexistence” framework suggests the U.S. can challenge China on security and technology while still cooperating on global problems. - That approach reflects a belief that supply chains depend on trust and relationships, not just factories and logistics. - The book’s tone is less ideological than much of the current U.S. discourse on China, and more focused on practical tradeoffs.

What’s next: - The book is positioned to feed ongoing debates over tariffs, industrial policy and economic decoupling. - Brantingham says the U.S. should cooperate with China on issues such as climate change and pandemics where both countries have shared interests. - The broader test, in his view, is whether the U.S. can compete with China without forcing a wider break in global trade.

The bottom line: - Brantingham’s central argument is that the U.S. does not have to choose between naivete and confrontation; it can compete, cooperate and preserve a rules-based trade system at the same time.