Russia and China were identified as “strategic competitors” in the Trump administration’s 2017 National Security Strategy and 2018 National Defense Strategy.
“Nobody wants a trade war,” wrote Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in an opinion piece for the Washington Post, one of the most influential newspapers in America. This viewpoint must be widely echoed by most people who advocate free trade and globalization, but will the “America First” Trump administration be happy to agree?
It is good news that a United States delegation headed by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin may visit Beijing in early May to try to resolve the differences over trade with China. Optimists believe that a trade war will probably be avoided as it is highly possible for the two countries to reach a compromised deal in which China is likely to make more concessions just like in past trade frictions.
However, pessimists warn that more frictions between American and China beyond trade are yet to come, and even a “new cold war” between the two countries is brewing.
There are four pillars underpinning America’s dominant power in the world, namely military, technologies, US dollar and culture. China is considered a strong competitor and even threat to America in almost all domains. And those perceptions lead to real actions.
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