To clarify, while US-China superficially seem like the 'sides'. Really, what I think is happening is that the values of many (especially Western) countries around human rights, democracy, freedom of religion and expression, are coming into conflict with a new kind of Chinese authoritarianism that really doesn't care for these things and is quite willing to subjugate large groups of people in doing so (Tibet, Xinjiang, Hong Kong, claims to Taiwan, etc.).
I think people are just waking up to the reality that the opening of China will not automatically lead to greater liberalism as was predicted.
If you wouldn't mind reviewing https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and sticking to the rules when posting here, we'd be grateful.
Any long term resolution to the conflict has to involve the realization that China has had 100 bad years and now has a giant comeback. And that the US has had 60 good years but now large parts of it decline.
I wonder about this. Why does totalitarianism in a sovereign nation need to be fought? For those of us considering a democratic China...why do we think the country would fare better as a democracy? The Chinese civilisation is goes back thousands of years. Could the system they have now be the cumulative effect of all they have gone through to date? In other words it has evolved and generally serves its people. It may evolve into something else (possibly resembling Western democracies) but it may not. I don't particularly think it has to.
If you want China to stop being totalitarian, then you should wait until most Chinese citizens decide that they don't approve of the ruling party, and then let them decide what to replace it with. You cannot force democracy.
In any case, you can rest assured that if the Chinese have to choose between Yeltsin and the CCP, they will choose the latter 100% of the times. Democracy cannot be forced.
If it was not for china North Korea and possibly Pakistan would not have had nuclear weapons now. So no, it is not just in it's own borders.
It’s like being caught in a fight between your drunk uncle and your berserk cousin.
Europe does not have to align with either side. It is a superpower in its own right if it gets its shit together (one can dream).
They’re giving up a partnership they entered after independently reviewing the equipment, I can’t see how it is a good outcome for them.
France for instance is about to take the same steps as UK, and get out of Huawei deals within the next years.
The issue of a deeper integration is an old one and evolving, but the trend is more integration.
It is becoming more and more important for Europe to stand on its own two feet and be independent in all aspects.
There are benefits in having the other superpowers locked in conflict if you can stay out of it as much as possible and further your interests while they are distracted.
The UK, on the other hand, is in a very weak position. China will feel comfortable retaliating strongly, and the US will probably extract a sweet trade deal from them.
As an European I don't what to think that the US seems so against kit from a Chinese company and completely fine with kit from an European company.
They should be worried about both. We also have a long term world domination plan (version 2.0)... ;)
The US would of course prefer that American technology be available, but since it's not then I suppose a partnership with two trusted allies is preferable to one with an untrusted adversary.
Nokia and Ericsson also aren't arms of the state widely believed (fairly or not) to actively facilitate global industrial and military espionage activities on behalf of a hostile government, so there's that.
While Obama made his move over SE Asia, the CCP applied the strategy they used in Australia with the PIGS. And while Trump very successfully destroyed what Obama tried to do in SE Asia, the CCP installed foreign military bases near center of trade in the Indian ocean while gaining political goodwill with middle east poorest countries. Most of Iraki oil is sold to China.
I'm not claiming i know what should be done, i'm just saying that China have already a lot of political allies and try to gain more, and now reached europe.
Maybe financially, but not ideologically. Not sure how far this "allegiance will hold".