The United States simply does not want to cede primacy to China. Whatever narrative is invoked—an “axis of evil” or ill will, autocracy versus democracy, or the insistence on “playing by the (our) rules”—the underlying reality is a deep concern that a foreign power could surpass it.
The Cold War with the USSR was fundamentally ideological: capitalism versus communism. The current confrontation is not ideological, despite repeated efforts to frame it as such (and no Niall it is not cold War II…). It is, rather, about a rising power that the incumbent power is determined to contain. While the prevailing rhetoric avoids explicitly describing it as a West-versus-East clash, that is precisely what it is.
China only ambition is to be a beacon in Asia and has no intention of going beyond where it is and where is has been for millennia. That I think many in the West don’t understand.
I found the following particularly interesting. According to it, the trigger for putting Taiwan at the forefront was yet another realization that China had made far more technological progress than previously assumed. If the United States could accept that China does not pose an inherent threat, there could be many developments beneficial not only to both countries but to the world at large. However, the U.S. does not appear inclined to adopt such a stance. The current “détente” is just that—temporary. How, if at all, could this outlook change?
