The U.S. and China seem to be moving relentlessly towards a serious conflict, and it can be detrimental to India’s national interest in the long run if gets caught in the middle.
At a time when most of the world remains focusses on dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, the United States and China are engaged in a quarrel over a host of issues that threatens to get out of control and entangle the international community. The Donald Trump’s administration inability to contain the uncontrolled spread of the pandemic in the U.S. has prompted the targeting of China. With President Trump facing an uphill task in the 2020 presidential election, his strategist seem to have calculated that his only route to victory is blaming China for the pandemic and the economic ills that have happened in the country in the last four years. In a racist rant, in a recent statement, Trump accused the Chinese government “of concealing the virus and unleashing it upon the world”, without as usual providing any evidence. The U.S. and China have been embroiled in trade disputes for quite some time.
The introduction of new National security laws by the Chinese government in Hong Kong, after protesters there made the important global financial hub virtually ungovernable, has led to the U.S. and the United Kingdom imposing more sanctions in China. Trump ordered an end to the preferential trade status enjoyed by Hong Kong. The “Hong Kong Autonomy Act”, unanimously passed by the U.S. Congress in early July, has given approval for the sanctioning of senior Hong Kong officials and banks.