It used to be that the world revolved around the comings and goings in Washington. Who got a phone call from the President? What did the State Secretary have to say about the developments in this or that country? Even a routine press release held meaning. Not anymore. I expect people in Washington still have meetings and phone calls, but they matter less and less.
I pride myself to be the sort of person that follows the news closely, to the point of being obsessive. However, I have no idea who the Secretary of State is. I remember James Baker, Madeleine Albright, or the infamous Colin Powell, but I have to Google the current US top diplomat. By the way, not even Google believes I may be searching for Blinken and offers a choice of more interesting Anthonys…. The same goes for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. I know the Russian Defense Secretary Shoigu, who the mainstream media have informed us on several occasions was either dying or falling out of favor. I’m also getting familiar with the Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu. Not an easy name to remember, but we should get used to it.
Blacklisted by the US, Li Shangfu is in Moscow for his first visit since his nomination. In case it did not make the headlines in your country, President Putin met with the Chinese envoy on Easter Sunday. Analysts familiar with Chinese customs say that everything they do is symbolic. It’s hard to tell if Putin wanted to show his respect for the Chinese diplomat and took the time to see him on the day of the most important Christian holiday or if the Chinese insisted he make time. Either way, the meeting is just another step in cementing the alliance between the two countries and it was the West that pushed Putin to hop into bed with Xi.
China is asserting its role on the international stage and there have been a lot of high-level visits to Beijing over the past few weeks. You can bet Washington was not pleased with the red-carpet welcome the Brazilian leader got in Beijing.
What is the US doing in the meantime? Biden went on a trip to Ireland, God only knows why. Blinken is in Japan trying to boost support for the proxy war in Ukraine. Lloyd Austin is heading to Germany to host a conference aimed at convincing US allies to provide more weapons to Ukraine.
China is busy weaving new economic (and military) alliances with South American and Arab nations, positioning itself as the new center of power. At least on a purely declarative level, they talk about peace and cooperation. America does what it does best - creating conflicts and providing the weapons needed to fight them.
Whether we like it or not, the world is increasingly turning to China, urging Beijing to do something about the war in Ukraine. In the olden days, that would have been Washington’s mission. Now, we’re watching to see what Xi does next. The puppets in Kyiv have been begging for a phone call between Xi and Zelensky. It’s been weeks since they made it clear that they want to talk to XI, and the Chinese leader is surely taking his time. Probably enjoying his new role, too. If and when that phone call happens, it will become Breaking News, eclipsing whatever Biden or Blinken do that day.
We’ve been living our whole lives with the belief that Washington sets the agenda. It is only of late that we started realizing that the emperor has no clothes. The US does not have the financial power to dominate the world, nor the military one, at least not when set up against Russia, China and their allies.
May you live in interesting times is a phrase often described as a Chinese proverb. It is not, but ironically it is China that is making the world such an interesting place these days. The Wiki describes the above-mentioned phrase as a “sardonic curse disguised as well-wishing”. For the average armchair political commentator, the interesting times we’re seeing are indeed a blessing. How often do you get to witness major reshaping of the international order? Things are happening fast if you know what to look for, but, on the other hand, the changes to come may turn out to be a disaster.
For many years now I’ve been waiting to see the American empire come to an end, but a dying predator can be incredibly dangerous in its last throes. The outlook is equally bleak as I don’t know many people eager to live in a world dominated by Beijing. Instead of waiting for the latest from the White House, we’ll be looking toward Zhongnanhai, which Wikipedia says is the residence of the Chinese leadership. Good to know.
