SHAPIRO: What does the U.S. do about China?

The United States is confronting an existential threat – but not the kind defined by ships on the horizon or missiles in the air.

The danger instead stems from a waning sense of national purpose and a growing doubt about America’s global role. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the emerging geopolitical alignment linking China, Russia and Iran.

This threat does not imply that China is preparing a direct attack on the U.S. Rather, it reflects what will happen as America retreats from the world stage.

Russia will expand its influence throughout Eastern Europe. China will widen its reach across the Far East, Africa, Asia and even South America. And with America no longer guaranteeing the freedom of the seas, its own network of economic alliances will weaken. A nation relegated to “secon