As relations between the United States and China have been hardening the past several years, the Asian nation ‘in a quest for dominance’ has been cultivating another partnership that bears monitoring, a prominent academician told an Eastern Massachusetts audience Wednesday nite.
Pointing to the ‘no limits partnership’ that President Xi Jinping signed with Russia President Vladimir Putin in early 2022, Dr. David Lampton stated China’s move toward Russia signifies a need for compromises lest the US and China begin a Cold War that some experts predict will become a hot war within years. The senior research director with the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies cited encouraging trade, re-assessing tariffs and re-opening consulates as simple, within-reach starting points.
‘One hand can’t clap’, Lampton said, quoting the Chinese saying to roughly 100 people in attendance at a Boston Public Library lecture hall.
Under the auspices of WorldBoston, an international affairs organization, the event was scheduled prior to when this month’s high-profile aerial vehicles appeared prominently in the news. US President Joe Biden is scheduled to address the nation on Thursday regarding the four suspect airborne devices, one of which China has acknowledged is its property, according to The Washington Post.
The once-strong cultural and educational ties between the US and China have been replaced by races in many domains including underseas and space, Lampton said, noting China has become a ‘principal strategic long-term problem’ that is acting in ‘strategically antagonistic ways’. He said the country is interested in ascending and maintaining its clout.
‘China is in a quest for dominance’, Lampton said.
Stating the Asian nation has advanced from a regional power to a global power, Lampton noted China’s regional leverage is entrenched as a top trade power to Southeast Asian nations. And the pact with Russia is projected to benefit both countries as Putin also has seen his profile rise.
‘You can’t ignore leaders’, he said, noting globalization has propelled the rise to prominence of additional national premiers, also citing the leadership tenures of Jaír Bolsinaro of Brazil, Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines and Narendra Modi of India.
He said developments in the South China Sea with the US Navy may be revealing while also addressing the challenge presented by Taiwan’s pursuit of independence from China. As President Jinping has frowned on Taiwan’s move, President Biden has vowed to support it.
But that support may not be as fervent should Taiwan take the initiative against China in an act of war, Lampton later said.