FROM TRUMP'S TRADE WARS TO BIDEN'S TECH WARS

 

The US often describe China as an aggressive nation. Curiously, though, it continues at the same time to multiply hostile moves against the Middle Kingdom, from Trump's Trade Wars to Biden's Tech Wars.

The motive is clear: fear of loss, fear of not being the most powerful country anymore, fear of becoming an has-been hegemon. At the same time, it must be noted that China, still rising economically, has no particular reason to start wars, with the important exception of Taiwan, seen as a part of the very flesh of that nation. Peace is what it is wishing for, and the continuation of its economical betterment.

The evolution of the automobile industry is a good example of a situation evolving positively from the point of view of Chinese interests. Why would China put that at risk, and everything else it is slowly building and creating, for the sake of military adventurism? In the main, it sees peace as the better path to follow to attain its goals. Only Taiwan doesn't fit in that pattern. The fate of that island-province is thus paramount for the foreseeable future.

Meanwhile, China continues to spread its influence, from the inside out, beginning by her Eurasian neighborhood. There, it is possible to see the main powers of continental Asia trying to harmonize their relations, while safeguarding their distinct interests, not an easy task, of course.

Clearly, a loose coalition, in the first stages of a coalescence process, is slowly forming. China is at the center of the process, which is to be expected, as the second most powerful country on the planet and its surroundings. Around her, lies a series of second-level powers, loosely allied, some being members of the Shanghai organization, others not (or not yet). Those lower-level powers include Russia, Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey. Interestingly enough, all of those countries exert some kind of influence over Central Asia (defined as the five ex-Soviet republics, plus Afghanistan). Also, all of them wish to forge closer ties with China.

India could have been as a member of that club, but her situation is different, with a more ambivalent status, due to her desire to walk a middle path between China and the US. Anyway, by its sheer size, both demographically and economically, India is in a class of her own.

Those four countries, i.e. Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, and Russia, are probably bound to become the main relays of power between China and the whole of Eurasia. They will likely be the Middle Kingdom's main allies, against the much-larger American-led coalition that has occupied first stage since the end of World War II.

At least, such seems to be the present geopolitical landscape of Terra, an evolving reality that changes day by day...

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https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/CES-2023/U.S.-lawmakers-outline-next-frontiers-of-China-tech-competition

https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/Turkey-says-relations-with-China-have-soured-over-Uyghur-issue