Absurdities in play on global stage amid pandemic
A superpower that unilaterally offers to play honest broker with its direct competitor on behalf of a friend though the two biggies don’t have the ability to resolve their own mutual differences. A wave of nationalism sweeping across the communist competitor as it stands accused of letting loose a killer virus. Ideological neutrality among both the big powers on hushing up their GDP data. Utilising social media extensively while dissing it. Such are the absurdities that are at play as the global community picks itself up to hopefully begin dusting off the worst-ever recession forced on it by the coronavirus pandemic.
US President Donald Trump’s offer to mediate between China and India on the Ladakh border face-off made no sense and was promptly fobbed off by both parties at loggerheads in near identical language. Stung by accusations of exporting the ‘Wuhan virus’ and using the WHO as its poodle, China did muscle flexing for territorial and geopolitical gains—explained off as nationalism—at a time when its neighbourhood and others were obsessed with containing the pandemic rather than exploring strategic interests.
The result: The autonomy under the one nation, two territories norm that Hong Kong enjoyed for over two decades was extinguished, and neighbours and trading partners got to see the ugly face of the dragon. Trump promptly withdrew the special trading rights Hong Kong had with the US, dragged his country out of the WHO and imposed a range of sanctions against China.
Before the pandemic struck, the US economy was on a roll, expecting to grow further on the back of a big trade deal with China, making Trump’s re-election seem a mere formality. That deal now is more or less dead. As the US economy tries to rise from the ashes of the pandemic that has killed more than 1 lakh of its citizens, the China factor could affect its bouncing back with a V-shaped growth. Trump has since tried to seize the initiative, provoking and backslapping, always looking to set the narrative. A no-holds-barred fight with Twitter is part of his strategy to become the central talking point. That is what he does best, and the Democrats are letting him play that game.