The phony giant
19/11/17 10:31![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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talkpoliticsThere's an old children's book, Mr Thur Thur. It's about a false giant. The further you go from him, the bigger he looks. And the closer you step, the more he shrinks. Facing him directly, you'd just see an old man who can't scare anyone.
From Xi Jinping's vantage point, Trump may've resembled Mr Thur Thur during their meeting. While Trump was touring Vietnam and the Philippines, he was assertive and sharp and menacing about China - from a safe distance. He was fuming over the currency war, and China's theft of intellectual property, etc. He even threatened China with sanctions and trade restrictions.
And then he visited China. Suddenly he was soft like a puppy, praising his Chinese counterpart, admiring his might and political prowess. As if flattery would impress anyone who's not a kindergartener. Hey, Trump even temporarily changed his Twitter photo to one where he's posing at the Forbidden City in Beijing alongside his Chinese host. Suddenly the ominous giant was nowhere to be seen.
The phony giant shrank to the point where, as far as foreign policy is concerned, his only... well, concern, is if US jobs are threatened, and little beyond that. He's got no long-term strategy for Asia, his plans about the Asia-Pacific region are a mystery (if they exist at all). While Obama was pivoting hard to Asia (mostly through trying to forge new alliances and fortify old ones in preparation for a response to China's geopolitical expansion), similar to the Grand Chessboard doctrine regarding the Soviets, we can see nothing of the sort now. The Trans-Pacific agreement was a keystone in Obama's strategy - he used to mostly view it as a political tool. But Trump got scared of what he perceives as a sell-off of the US economy, so he canceled the agreement.
During his Asian trip, Trump scolded one of America's key allies, Japan, accusing them of unfair trade practices. And the Taiwanese government was trembling with anxiety before his visit there. Their president literally begged Trump not to mention her country during his talks with China, fearing that he could use Taiwan's status as a bargaining chip for a possible agreement with China on the North Korean conflict.
America's long-term allies in the region are getting increasingly confused. The Chinese are hardly a reliable partner, and they're purposefully using the power vacuum that's left from America's withdrawal. They do it geopolitically by expanding their naval bases in the South China Sea; they do it economically by investing massively into the so called New Silk Road, etc.
The same is valid for the development policies, where China is pushing hard for the establishment of a central Asian bank for infrastructure investment, which will be providing huge loans to developing countries (you know the Economic Hit-Man scenario, which has been America's trademark method of dominating faraway regions). And in terms of culture, China is constantly expanding their network of cultural institutes called Confucius.
Unlike Trump, Xi is following a clear strategy of international policy. Of course, China's ascent as a new global superpower is not entirely thanks to China's effort. Trump's decision to give up on America's positions in Asia and throughout the rest of the world is resulting in America's increased self-isolation. In the meantime, the US doesn't seem likely to relinquish its position of the world's dominant military power. There's a huge discrepancy here.
Trump's slogan was making America great again, but on the world scene he's quickly turning her into a phony giant - while the process is still far from being irreversible, it spells trouble in the long run.
From Xi Jinping's vantage point, Trump may've resembled Mr Thur Thur during their meeting. While Trump was touring Vietnam and the Philippines, he was assertive and sharp and menacing about China - from a safe distance. He was fuming over the currency war, and China's theft of intellectual property, etc. He even threatened China with sanctions and trade restrictions.
And then he visited China. Suddenly he was soft like a puppy, praising his Chinese counterpart, admiring his might and political prowess. As if flattery would impress anyone who's not a kindergartener. Hey, Trump even temporarily changed his Twitter photo to one where he's posing at the Forbidden City in Beijing alongside his Chinese host. Suddenly the ominous giant was nowhere to be seen.
The phony giant shrank to the point where, as far as foreign policy is concerned, his only... well, concern, is if US jobs are threatened, and little beyond that. He's got no long-term strategy for Asia, his plans about the Asia-Pacific region are a mystery (if they exist at all). While Obama was pivoting hard to Asia (mostly through trying to forge new alliances and fortify old ones in preparation for a response to China's geopolitical expansion), similar to the Grand Chessboard doctrine regarding the Soviets, we can see nothing of the sort now. The Trans-Pacific agreement was a keystone in Obama's strategy - he used to mostly view it as a political tool. But Trump got scared of what he perceives as a sell-off of the US economy, so he canceled the agreement.
During his Asian trip, Trump scolded one of America's key allies, Japan, accusing them of unfair trade practices. And the Taiwanese government was trembling with anxiety before his visit there. Their president literally begged Trump not to mention her country during his talks with China, fearing that he could use Taiwan's status as a bargaining chip for a possible agreement with China on the North Korean conflict.
America's long-term allies in the region are getting increasingly confused. The Chinese are hardly a reliable partner, and they're purposefully using the power vacuum that's left from America's withdrawal. They do it geopolitically by expanding their naval bases in the South China Sea; they do it economically by investing massively into the so called New Silk Road, etc.
The same is valid for the development policies, where China is pushing hard for the establishment of a central Asian bank for infrastructure investment, which will be providing huge loans to developing countries (you know the Economic Hit-Man scenario, which has been America's trademark method of dominating faraway regions). And in terms of culture, China is constantly expanding their network of cultural institutes called Confucius.
Unlike Trump, Xi is following a clear strategy of international policy. Of course, China's ascent as a new global superpower is not entirely thanks to China's effort. Trump's decision to give up on America's positions in Asia and throughout the rest of the world is resulting in America's increased self-isolation. In the meantime, the US doesn't seem likely to relinquish its position of the world's dominant military power. There's a huge discrepancy here.
Trump's slogan was making America great again, but on the world scene he's quickly turning her into a phony giant - while the process is still far from being irreversible, it spells trouble in the long run.
(no subject)
Date: 19/11/17 14:22 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 20/11/17 01:18 (UTC)I'll admit to being a cynic enough to want the schadenfreude of seeing Western white liberalism have to brain the world when the dominant imperial power is no longer a white liberal Europeanish democracy but instead a non-white non-Anglophone totalitarian dictatorship.
The process has been irreversible since Shrub launched his damn fool crusade in Iraq against the advice of his allies. And the more it accelerates, the more US military power declines even if its technology pretty much works fine.
(no subject)
Date: 20/11/17 07:27 (UTC)I'm beginning to love your Brutally-Blunt introductions. :-)