Joe Biden bows out after losing his nation’s confidence
The US is no longer the top cop in the world’s police
August 18 2024
US President Joe Biden has withdrawn from running for a second term as president of the US, citing his advanced age and “personal reasons”. But many believe it’s because, under his watch, the US has lost its position as chief enforcer of global governance.
It started with the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, when Kabul fell within days to the Taliban insurgency, and people were left desperately clinging to aircraft as US citizens and agents were evacuated. Those scenes cost Biden dearly in the polls, where he suffered the biggest popularity drop ever; well, after Trump that is.
But that was only the start of a gradual reduction — admittedly started by Trump — of the US role as the only global superpower that could keep world order. The simple truth was that extended wars of occupation or propping up friendly governments in far-flung countries for decades became just too costly. In the face of huge government debt and grandiose infrastructure renewal plans, as well as tackling climate change, Biden had no choice but to scale back the military and put ordinary Americans first.
In sheer military might — just count the aircraft carriers — the US is still the superpower, and has allies to prove it. But now China, and to a lesser extent Russia, is stepping in to occupy the vacuum left by US withdrawal in many theatres.
China’s Belt and Road, already active in Pakistan, has quickly engaged with Afghanistan’s new rulers, and entrenched its position in the region. China uses economic rather than military power, but has enormous resources to back up its ambitions. At this stage it’s unclear who the Democrats will choose to run against a resurgent Trump, but it won’t be Joe. Biden has left the building. Date published: August 19 2021
CHINA STEPS INTO THE BREACH August 8 2020
The vacuum left by the US leadership crisis has been filled, but not by Europe. Power has shifted to the east, and now China is stepping up to the plate in a big way. In a world where Western freemarket ideology has become tarnished and mean, China’s economic imperialism is eagerly welcomed.
Make no mistake, Russia still has command of huge resources, but its technology seems rooted in the industrial age; an economic minnow, left stranded by the tsunami of digital tech sweeping the globe.
With markets measured in billions of consumers, China’s innovators in the fields of machine intelligence, robotics and nanotech have disrupted more than telecoms, e-commerce and global financial systems.
Perhaps because they came late to the game, and could afford to reject all legacy thinking, while exponentially scaling the best of the rest of the world’s advances, Chinese techno heroes such as Jack Ma have become global icons like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.
President Xi Jinping, the new serene emperor, dispenses aid, influence and access with equal aplomb, to all those who wish to expand international co-operation. One Belt, One Road is merely one manifestation of the ancient philosophy that guides his ambitions: a “mandate of heaven” to have a world of harmony and prosperity, with China at the centre.
And neighbouring India is the perfect partner in this endeavour, with an equally large population adopting middle-class values and absorbing new products and services; and a youthful, entrepreneurial labour force to carry the wave forward — a wave that will reach the farthest corners of the seven seas. Date published: August 2 2018