It is obvious that we are returning to what is basically a bipolar world, resembling the rivalry between the USSR and the US after World War II, except this time the rivals are China and the US. Russia, which would like to pretend great power status, really isn’t in the running.
In the new bipolar competition, who is winning? With the increasing global climate issues, to talk about “winners” might be completely misplaced, but it seems to me that China is emerging as the #1 power. In an article in Foreign Affairs, Wang Jisi, President of the Institute of International and Strategic Studies at Peking University, explained the Chinese attitude.
He pointed out that by mid-May of this year, Covid deaths in the U.S. reached nearly 600,000, while China, with many more people, lost fewer than 5000. What comes out of the U.S. are stories about police brutality, mass shootings, and urban unrest. The 2020 Presidential is still contested by many Trump supporters, and the January 6 riot at the Capitol showed political instability.
“Against this backdrop, many Chinese analysts highlight the political dysfunction, socioeconomic inequality, ethnic and racial divisions, and economic stagnation that plague the United States and other Western democracies.”
They have a point.
China is also able to accomplish actions quickly and effectively - ref Bill Maher's commentary on this subject
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