AFTER years of upheaval in US-China relations, caused by Donald Trump’s trade war and assault on globalisation, the Taiwan crisis, President Joe Biden’s obsession with maintaining America’s economic and technological superiority and geopolitical dominance, and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s hyper nationalism, mutual ties are settling into an uneasy calm.

Spurred by the upcoming US polls and China’s economic challenges, a consensus may be emerging that the two countries must manage relations responsibly by trying to cooperate where they can, compete where they should, and avoid conflict where they must. Both realise that even a limited Great Power conflict, could destroy the world economy in an era of economic interdependence and globalisation. A trade war and de-globalisation would hurt not just China but America too.

The US is thus trying not to reject globalisation but redefining it so that it does not harm its national security, technological supremacy and economic leadership, and is focusing its containment of China more on the latter’s military and technological ascent rather than its economic rise. This benefits the US. Washington may thus be open to healthy economic competition with Beijing as it cannot........

© Dawn