> You show the CCP an inch and they’ll take two.

Every country with the clout to do that does it, and the other countries know it. You speak of the CCP like they're evil bastards waiting to leap at your throat, but in reality USA and China have a lot in common, at least in world politics.

Some Latin American countries tried to avoid giving even an inch to USA, and it didn't end well. China has done the same in Asia. USA-China rivalry is not about good and bad, it's more akin to thugs invading each other's turfs.

I'm sorry, are you under the impression we refused to work with or compromise with China throughout the cold war?

I'm not saying I agree or disagree, but I'm almost certain he is saying how it worked with the Soviet Union.

That wouldn’t be true either. I’m no historian but things like the SALT treaties would surely be examples of working with the USSR (and giving them “an inch” in the process).

I'm guessing the parent was referring to America and the USSR during the cold war and saying America needs to take the same stance against China as they did against the USSR.