Blue Team (U.S. politics)

[1] After the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989,[2] and in the context of China's economic and military expansion not only in Asia but around the world, "blue" concerns widened in scope.

[5] The Bush administration had for the most part followed the "pragmatic" approach that has been dominant in US foreign relations since the Shanghai Communiqué, which allows for "engagement" with China.

William Kristol, whose The Weekly Standard once described the PRC as "a regime of hair-curling, systematic barbarity,"[9] has called repeatedly for a harsher stance against China.

The beliefs associated with "Blue Team" opinions arise largely from dissatisfaction with the general drift of American foreign policy toward accommodation with the PRC.

[14] This was of major concern to US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld since the Pentagon had frequently complained about the lack of transparency in China's military capabilities and intentions.

A recent threat report from the Pentagon reinforced the Blue Team's fears, stating that China may be attempting a military buildup aimed at capturing Taiwan and deterring outside help from the US and/or Japan.