When Chinese military planners, and probably even the Chinese leadership itself, think about a hypothetical future war with the United States, they are very likely worried that the U.S. military will attempt to decapitate the Chinese leadership. This may sound far-fetched to Americans, but there is very strong evidence that Beijing really does worry about U.S. decapitation strikes—and that these fears mean a U.S.-China conflict runs higher escalation risks than previously understood. The