In March 2000, President Bill Clinton delivered a speech at Johns Hopkins University in which he urged Americans to favor increased engagement with the People’s Republic of China. Speaking in support of China’s accession to the World Trade Organization, Mr. Clinton waxed optimistically about the country’s potential for change as it enjoyed the fruits of participation in the U.S.-led liberal democratic order. Though he acknowledged the continued repression of free speech and human rights under the Chinese Communist Party, Mr. Clinton waved off these concerns, pointing to, among other things, the power of the still-developing...