Samuel Corum/Getty Images As we did with the Soviet Union, the US needs to pioneer the global conversation against China. China's attempts to gain international influence have largely failed. The US needs to establish cultural centers across the globe to inspire American values and ideals. This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author. Why is the US doing such a poor job of addressing the China challenge? Right now, the American strategy seems to amount to tariffs, sanctions, demonstrations of military force, and an unending stream of strongly-worded statements. In short, the US is still playing on China's terms and turf. That approach will only go so far and too often allows Chinese leaders to portray the West as the aggressor.