Every now and then the war in Gaza overshadows the one in Ukraine, and every now and then the war in Ukraine overshadows the gigantic conflict that underlies it: a proxy war between the two great superpowers of the planet, the United States and China.
If the image seems exaggerated, just focus on one immediate fact: Washington officially gives weapons to UkraineBeijing gives clandestinely weapons to Russia.
The attention with which the Chinese regime views the conflict in Europe, moreover, is paroxysmal: sees us as a fundamental test of the possible Western reaction toinvasion of Taiwanthat for Xi Jinping it’s a question of “when”, not “if”. So China tests America and all of us from every point of view: our political and moral solidarity in supporting those attacked, the flow of weapons from the West to Kiev, their functionality, the effectiveness that similar tools could have to make the cost of an attack by the Asian giant on the small democratic island very heavy.
At the same time, precisely because it arms Russia and is a vital outlet for its oil, China can be decisive in stopping Putin. Of course, to do so he will have to find it convenient for himself, or he will have to find it too costly to continue supporting Moscow. Wars have pros and cons for everyone: the West is consuming resources, but it is also testing in turn everything that matters, armaments systems and political balances. Waiting for the possible planetary earthquake that would arise within 7 months of Donald’s return Ciamp.
For all these reasons, the visit of the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Beijing and his meeting with Xi are events to be analyzed carefully. But the same attention must be paid to the conflict between Israel and Hamasalways poised between a possible turning point in negotiations and a new, devastating offensive on the Strip
USA and China between tension and dialogue
Xi’s mellifluous tones, the aggressive ones of his entourage, the American requests (and threats). Point by point:
Poised between rupture and reconciliation
So, breakup or reconciliation? We are always in the balance. Right now the breakup would harm both of them: the Chinese economy is not shining like it has in the past decades and the USA has too many open fronts. Therefore, if even Blinken says that the United States and China «they have a duty to their two peoples and to the entire world to manage the relationship responsibly“, means that “the two parties agree that the dialogue must be protected, even if strategic conflicts remain and seem irreconcilable».
This article is found in the PrimaOra newsletter, reserved for Corriere subscribers and today signed by Gianluca Mercuri: here is the web version.
