Regardless of the outcome of the continued negotiations with the EU, the so-called Johnson’s “Global Britain” seems to be impatiently awaiting the result of the U.S. presidential election to see if it has to go to “the back of queue” in any future trade talks with the U.S. and lose face in the eyes of the entire world, or “become de facto the 51st state of America, or at least a U.S. territory.”
Without this leadership and cooperation, the present disastrous pandemic will accelerate into a catastrophic collapse of global security and the impoverishment of billions of the global population.
Though undoubtedly less than pleased to see their country’s most prominent technology and internet firms losing access to overseas markets, China’s leaders and policymakers are not entirely unreasonable, and likely understand the inherent imbalances in which China’s own digital sphere remains largely closed to foreign players, while expecting overseas markets to remain open to China’s.
The attack and interception that the Trump Administration launched against China is a loss and obstruction of cooperation to the global society.
China’s development experiences provide substantive lessons to other developing countries, and although they all have different national contexts, China’s experiences can be effectively adapted to address local challenges through the South-South Cooperation platform.
The Trump administration believes strongly in a foreign policy of “unilateralism” – that is, America’s interests should be forced on other countries and bodies rather than engaging in politics of compromise and consensus. This poses a threat to the United Nations and the cause of cooperative global governance.
The coronavirus, as well as the other forms of virus, have driven home the value of multilateralism to address our collective challenges. United, not divided; cooperative, not confronting; and all-win, not zero-sum game represent the trend of the time.
America’s illegitimate unilateralism has not gone unnoticed by other countries, including its own allies. With every abuse of power, the U.S. is harming its image on the world stage.
The multilateral system must respond to the hopes, fears and insecurities of the people we serve. And only with that, the future we want can be secured.
In the U.S., a country founded on the primacy of the individual, the battle between self-interest and national interest has long been the norm in the political realm. At this challenging juncture, it is imperative that politicians have the courage to get rid of brinkmanship and put the latter above the former.
There are growing concerns that the rising number of COVID-19 cases in other parts of the world and the lack of a vaccine could force delays or even cancellations to both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games.
China-India relations should reduce the sensitivity of the boundary question and go beyond it.
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