The World Press Syndicate website published an article by former German Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer on May 25, saying that the distribution of global power will be changed by the COVID-19 crisis, and China, as an emerging power, will gain the upper hand and start the East Asian century. The article is compiled as follows:
The COVID-19 pandemic can be said to be the first truly global crisis of the 21st century. The only economic chaos in modern history that can be compared to this economic chaos caused by a tiny pathogen is the world wars of the last century.
The question is how the distribution of global power will change as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. Whether the impact of the pandemic will be comparable to that of the two world wars is still unknown. Clearly, a global economic crisis of this magnitude would have serious geopolitical shocks. As an existing superpower, the United States is likely to cling to its highest position in the global hierarchical order. But most indications are that China, as an emerging power, will gain the upper hand and usher in the East Asian century.
Workers tie the reinforcement of foundation beams at the construction site of the Urumqi Airport Reconstruction and Expansion Project on May 23. (Photo by Xinhua news agency reporter Ding Lei)
Long before the COVID-19 crisis, the confrontation between China and the United States has become the decisive conflict in the 21st century. However, the pandemic and election-year politics in the United States appear to be exacerbating and accelerating this confrontation. For U.S. President Donald Trump, the November election is of great importance. With poor management of the pandemic and an unprecedented domestic economic crisis erupting during his presidency, he desperately needs a scapegoat, and China is the obvious choice.
Still, the Trump administration's consistent strenuous rejection of global leadership raises a fundamental question: What does the United States under Trump want? To lead without taking responsibility?
A man rides wearing a mask in Washington, D.C., on May 26. (Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Jie)
This is unlikely to work. While the United States remains stuck in short-term thinking, China is establishing itself as a source of global leadership and an alternative source of investment, patiently pursuing a long-term strategy to capitalize on the geopolitical vacuum created by the U.S. turn inward.
In any case, especially after the Trump administration's disastrous defeat in the face of COVID-19, the blow to America's international image will be difficult to repair. The pandemic has reinforced the widespread impression that the United States is a degenerate superpower that will soon be replaced by a strategically flexible and economically dynamic China. A virus is now writing the ancient story of the rise and fall of great powers. We can only hope that this chapter will unfold peacefully.
Article editor | Shuai Rong
WeChat Editor | Jiang Huayu
WeChat review | Tian Xin
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