Milquetoast vs. The Dragon

(Milquetoast vs. The Dragon)

There are certain human interactions that should be limited, especially when it comes to geo-politics. The G-20 Conference has convened in Bali and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping is there with President Joe Biden. When the two "leaders" held a conference together, Biden expressed American concerns over Hong Kong, Taiwan, the war in the Ukraine, and human rights abuses. The President expressed his hope that the United States and the Peoples' Republic could work collectively to resolve the global crises of food security, and Biden's favorite, climate change. Nothing about the origins of covid.


For his part, the Chinese Premier listened politely. He shook hands with his American counterpart but the reality of what he will be taking from Bali will have nothing to do with what he and Biden discussed. Hong Kong, Taiwan, what happens in the western interior, are the exclusive purview of Beijing. It has always been Xi's intention to have China supersede the U.S. and the West and that will not happen with a cooperative relationship.


 Now, for the President's part, it had been his contention that the U.S. is the most prepared to deal with Biden-defined priorities, namely climate change. As Beijing has some of the most polluted municipal air, any affinity by the Chinese Communist Party to combat such pollution or for that matter any further environmental policy, at least none that would compromise Communist Party prerogative.


China cannot be un-aware of the political situation of the United States and how that landscape has been altered in recent days. Depending on final results in the House, a Republican Majority will prove less friendly to the Peoples' Republic. What comes out of the still Democrat Senate with regards to China remains to be seen. Suffice things to say that whatever is the relationship after January of next year, it will be different.


But why is Biden in Bali ? Aside from the G-20 where the American President is required to attend and aside from the fact that the U.S. has the largest economy, for the time being. But Biden is no comparison to Xi. Biden is junior in this pairing. The Chinese Premier has just assumed absolute power whereas the Party of the American President just avoided a bloodbath. Biden is a politician who ebbs and flows on political fortune. Xi Jinping, on the other hand, makes his own fortune.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Siege Of The Alamo

(Siege Of The Alamo) Any visitor to Downtown San Antonio will recognize the City's most famous landmark, the Alamo. An old Spanish mission that means "Cottonwood" in English was the site where the likes of Jim Bowie, William Barrett Travis and Davy Crockett and about another 185 Texians defended the Mission and its compound for thirteen days against the Army of General Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana and his 5,000 troops. The garrison was finally reduced on March 6, 1836. However, the Texian defeat at the Alamo and another one at Goliad, bought time for General Sam Houston time to fall back and then face Santa Ana at San Jacinto. There, Houston's army surprised the Mexicans and yelling "Remember the Alamo, Remember Goliad !" all but wiped out the Mexican force. Santa Ana was captured and was forced to recognize the Republic of Texas. Which is now the State of Texas and, like 1836 Texas War of Independence, there is a new invasion from Mexico. Not the armed body o
Read more

TEQUILA !

(TEQUILA !) Happy Cinco de Mayo or May 5th. One can hope that a lot of you out there are awash in inebriation, seeking to mainline tequila shots or enjoying a nice margarita on the patio. Or, in other words, relax. Take a breath. De-compress. May 5th as it happens is the anniversary of Mexico's victory over French "occupation" of Mexico by Emperor Maximillian, brother to Austrian monarch Maria Theresa in what has been called the Battle of Puebla. The reason France was in Mexico in the first place was that Mexico, after the Mexican-American War and a more civil conflict called the Reform War, had bankrupted Mexico City. Mexican President at the time was Benito Juarez, who repudiated all foreign debt, of which France, Spain, and the United Kingdom were all major holders. A naval expedition was dispatched to Veracruz and France's Napoleon III thought it would be a good idea to establish a French "empire" in Mexico. But, on May 5th, 1862, in the aforementioned B
Read more

Intended Consequences

(Intended Consequences) For those Readers who live in the Tri-State area, who had the earthquake this morning, just be still.  There is a postulate called the Law of Un-Intended Consequences. Basically, it says that even with the best intentions, negative results sometimes happen. However, there are also instances when a negative result is precisely the desired outcome. Like with the Israel- Hamas war where the Biden Administration continues to press for an all but unilateral ceasefire on the part of Israel. In California, the new $20/HR minimum wage is wreaking havoc on the fast food industry. And finally, after depleting the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, oil has now become too expensive. How many times must the Biden Administration think it can influence Israeli affairs ? How many times must Israel ignore it. Threats from the President have become redundant at this point but is Biden really prepared to cut Israel loose ? In the middle of the greatest crisis Israel is facing since the
Read more