Xi Jinping's guns of August

Much of the foreign-policy conversation in the United States over the past two weeks has centred on whether US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi ought to have visited Taiwan. Her backers pointed out that there was precedent for such a visit - a previous speaker and Cabinet members had visited Taiwan - and that it is important for officials to underscore the US commitment to Taiwan in the face of increasing Chinese pressure. But critics argued that the trip was ill-timed, because Chinese President Xi Jinping would most likely feel a need to respond, lest he appear weak heading into a critical Communist Party congress this autumn. There were also worries that the visit might lead Mr Xi to do more to support Russia's aggression in Ukraine.

But the focus on Mrs Pelosi's visit is misplaced. The important question is why China responded not just by denouncing the trip, but with import and export bans, cyber attacks, and military exercises that represented a major escalation over anything it had previously done to punish and intimidate Taiwan.