ReOrient

China's ultimate aim is to replace the US and become the pre-eminent power in the world

- Avinash Godbole

THE United States (US) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) have been engaged in fighting multiple battles parallelly, and Donald Trump's return to power has given a strong and rather combative impetus to this process. This has to do with the fact that China has emerged as a confident and ambitious global player with aspirations for even more power and status in the international order and the US, on the other Hand, sees China as a destabiliser. In essence, this is a battle between the existing hegemony and a challenger that is no longer hiding its intent. Technology, economy, global status, norms and the future of Taiwan are some of the core areas of US-China competition.

This was epitomised recently with the launch of DeepSeek—the Chinese artificial intelligence tool which is more efficient and productive than the US-made ChatGPT. This has been seen as a modern Sputnik moment as well. DeepSeek’s launch also coincided with the ten-year report of the Made in China 2025 initiative, which listed that China was way ahead of its targets and as announced in the National People’s Congress (NPC), China is on track to lead the world in smart manufacturing in the years to come.

China has historically benefitted from being in the right place at the right time and, as Trump has unleashed his trade war and deglobalisation drive, it will try to do that once again. China will not play Trump’s game shot for shot but will be selective in responding, both in terms of its language as well as its strategy. However, its vocabulary will be one of criticising Trump and the US about deglobalisation. For a while now, China has emerged as a patron voice of globalisation, and it comes with the goal to delegitimise American power and its values. China has just about begun the influence phase of its great power status, and the US withdrawal from its great power commitments and from its leadership position, is good news for China.

The Economic Front