I just read the third of three articles (links below) on what's led China to the current position, ahead of a summit between the leaders of the great power and the wannabe great power.
Like most people, I saw Trump as a power-intoxicated guy who can't make up his mind. Very bright, but still at best muddled. I confess to not understanding much of his passion for deals, and his personality is not one I care for. But, IF these articles are correct, maybe Trump deserves more credit than most of us would like.
The first question about these three articles is, where did the guy get all of this? Is he just an astute observer? While it seems to me to make sense (certainly as much as anything else), no one (including the author) can predict the future. As the author concludes, "Watch closely. This one matters."
The first article is about the rise of China as a world power. The second is about the acceptance by the West of the long assault by China. The third is about Trump's countermoves by Trump, and China's current weaknesses. This is the longest and most interesting of the articles - it is still in play and has so many possible outcomes, many of which will depend on who comes after Trump. And for once, I'm no longer assuming that any alternative must be better.
When people later analyse the second half of the 20th century and the first quarter of the 21st, will they somehow draw different conclusions? Certainly, if they base it on Chinese accounts, they will. And of course, who comes next after Trump could well change things.
https://www.facebook.com/clayton.wood.338/posts/pfbid0eZk2YgytQDD1qcmWKTEfkau14u6mYg2CUhdX8xCFgXLuBH3uVNiqcwqeRETNU2cAl
https://www.facebook.com/clayton.wood.338/posts/pfbid02cjv995k7NvxdnNeWtxcDU5cCypNHftLoHkvQoDAG5F3KZuqwpb7NsagZ7YpE7sqCl
https://www.facebook.com/clayton.wood.338/posts/pfbid0ahyFjs2p8T8HD8QP6MQQXRo7z74JdsGua9cmy8RU56zWTVs88QZaXBcruqpj6e4Fl