A column this week by former Defense Secretary James N. Mattis that blasted President Trump’s “America First” theme did not disclose that Mr. Mattis holds a senior position at the Cohen Group, a firm that dedicates itself to making business deals in China.

Mr. Trump’s get-tough approach toward China — tariffs and prohibitions on Beijing’s cyberproducts — is generally counter to the Cohen Group’s objective of bringing Chinese and U.S. companies together in multimillion dollar deals.

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The Cohen Group, founded by former Defense Secretary William Cohen and staffed by a number of former high-ranking government and military leaders, has two of its four overseas offices in China.

Mr. Mattis’ Nov. 23 ForeignAffairs.com column was co-authored with three other national security experts, but it was his name that gave it weight in the news media. The article’s thoughts resemble the Obama administration’s China approach. It could be a window into how presumptive President-elect Joseph R. Biden pulls back from Mr. Trump’s hardline.

Mr. Mattis is identified in his column as a former defense secretary and fellow at the Hoover Institution, but not as a senior counselor at the Cohen Group global consulting firm in Washington. Read more at Washington Times