Al Jazeera reports: Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz and Washington’s competing blockade of Iranian ports have left Chinese ships stranded and severely affected China’s crude oil imports, half of which are shipped from the Middle East.Trump is likely to renew calls for China to join an “international operation” to open the Strait of Hormuz, which Beijing has so far resisted. In that sense, the visit is less about reconciliation than about preserving a controlled tension in which competition can continue without tipping into open collision.”Negotiations on trade, technology, governance and security issues “all sit around this core question: how to keep competition intense but still bounded”, Gu added.Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute in London, UK, said a trade deal of some sort is likely, “as both want to ensure the meeting [is] a success.
But that’s not the same as working as G2, which is unlikely.”“The basic tension is that Trump wants to reassert the US as the most powerful country, and Xi wants the same. They cannot both succeed, even if Xi only wants China to be recognised as pre-eminent rather than as the hegemon,” he added. How friendly are the US and China right now?When Trump and Xi met in South Korea on October 30 and agreed to roll back various trade restrictions after months of negotiations, both sides hailed the meeting as positive.
Background
Advertisement Trump went as far as giving it a “12-out-of-10” rating and touting it as a “G2” meeting, albeit it not resulting in a joint deal or statement that could suggest a formally united front. The characterisation, however, grabbed the headlines as it marked Trump’s recognition of China as a superpower Washington must contend with.Following months of an escalating trade war, Xi also extended an olive branch to Trump when he opened the talks in Busan, describing China’s ambitions as “not incompatible with President Trump’s goal of ‘Making America Great Again'”.As the meeting ended, the leaders shook hands and Xi said their countries should “be partners and friends”, hinting at a partnership reminiscent of the G2 concept.
Key facts
- But that’s not the same as working as G2, which is unlikely.”“The basic tension is that Trump wants to reassert the US as the most powerful country, and Xi wants the same.
- They cannot both succeed, even if Xi only wants China to be recognised as pre-eminent rather than as the hegemon,” he added.
- “They do not want to be reduced to terrain on which great powers compete.”
What this means
“That is doubtful,” the analyst said. “Europe, India, Japan, Brazil, South Africa, the Middle East, ASEAN countries and many developing economies do not want global order to be negotiated over their heads.”Tsang, at the SOAS China Institute, said that if a G2 were to materialise, “the world would be dominated by two self-centred powers only interested in themselves”, while global institutions like the World Trade Organization would be “even less relevant”. Advertisement The prospect of a G2 raises concerns for allies of the US, who fear that Washington and Beijing could cut them out of important decisions and make deals that work against their interests.Europe is especially worried about a trade deal that cuts it out and accelerates its declining position of strength on the world stage.
“We have to accelerate. We are shaken by competition, sometimes by unfair competition and tariffs,” he said.India, Brazil and other major emerging economies within the BRICS grouping of economies also view growing US-China relations as a challenge to their own global superpower aspirations. “They do not want to be reduced to terrain on which great powers compete.”
Originally reported by Al Jazeera. This story has been edited and re-presented by BRIC Team.
