UNDOUBTEDLY, a global economic war is developing. It is a new kind of Cold War, although not one based on ideology such as past geopolitical tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States, But it is a war for international legitimacy, a struggle for hearts, minds, and money in a very large part of the globe that is not aligned with America or with NATO.
The global balance of power is shifting, and for many countries, the mart money might be on China now. Countries in Asia, like the Philippines as well as others, are closely watching the rise of this international order, led by China. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi took his second trip to Middle East countries; Turkey , Iran, the United Arab Emirates , Oman and Bahrain , right after the Alaska Summit which was held between China and the United States. Wang’s visit to the Middle East to promote the internationalization of the Chinese currency , and build a safe haven for U.S dollar depreciation. Last week, Iran and China signed a twenty-five year strategic cooperation agreement addressing economic issues arising during the U.S sanctions on Iran.
However, the devil, as always, is in the details, and those details apparently remained to be sorted out in the form of specific contracts and plans for cooperation. But China is taking advantage of Iran’s sanction-ridden economy as the Iranian government fears its loss of sovereignty in the complex geopolitics of the Middle East.
Having for decades attempted to prevent China’s espionage and theft of intellectual property, military technology, and trade secrets and technology, the United States has tried to guard its key technology, including computers chips, semiconductor fabrication equipment tools. More recently the US has done end runs to keep Huawei, the world’s biggest telecom equipment maker, out of the markets.
The question is what does this jockeying mean for the high-tech industry and for the global economy? Will America succeed in blocking the Chinese megacompany? Whoever captures the high tech fields, like those of quantum computing, space technology, biotechnology, and artificial intelligence, will hold the power. The European Union is also involved in the ongoing trade war between China and the U.S. The U.S and certain EU countries to pressure China for the Human rights and democracy. This situation puts pressure on third party countries to choose a side between the U.S and China . China uses many ways to block U.S influence in other countries.
But China’s high tech Huawei is expecting to take advantage of Beijing’s twenty-five years partnership deal with Iran to gain a monopolistic position in the development of Iran’s 5G network and to replace its Swedish rival, Ericsson, which left Iran due to American sanctions.
Whether it be artificial intelligence or space technology, China is rapidly becoming a dominant player in the high tech race. For example, while America is dealing with the political mess from the leftist liberals’s power grab, and the West is combating the Covid-19 virus, China surprised the Western intelligence services with the sudden launch of a trio of Yaogan-31 ocean reconnaissance satellites. This was the China’s third launch since January. This clearly shows that China is rapidly trying to catch up with the United States.
Once China surpasses the US military, China will try to push America out of the region, and America’s ejection from South East Asia will mean the end of America‘s super power. The main goal of China is to deter Washington’s military intervention in the Pacific.
The Yaogan satellite constellation’s ability to track and target US military assets is important for China. Many developed nations, including the United States, have partially started their 5G mobile services, so that there is an ongoing race among developing nations, especially in the Middle East. The Chinese‘s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, which aims to increase China’s economic and strategic presence across Eurasia, to offer Iran an economic lifeline, and to leverage a new deal with the United States. Iran sees the long term political, economic, and security agreements as a necessary means of combating U.S hegemonic power in the region over Iran.
In today’s political climate China shows itself as a rising and increasingly influential world power, and Iran is ascending as one of the power players in the Middle East, as Iran’s nuclear aspirations increasingly dominate its relation with America and the West.
But China remains one of Iran’s strongest allies on the Security Council. Russia, China, and Iran are against American military and interventionist policies in the Middle East and seek to eliminate the supremacy of the American dollar looming over the global economy.
Not many Americans realize it, but America’s dominance in high tech innovation is now in question. We are living in a world full of uncertainty, and, as a result, the paradigm of global governance has begun a crucial shift, making adaptations for both large and small nations.
China, Iran, and Russia are taking advantage of the American withdrawal from the global stage. China is seeking to balance its relations with Iran and with those states that see themselves locked in regional competitions with Iran. Involved nations have to understand and timely to adapt to this shift, both individually and collectively.
The new geopolitical paradigm is shifting in two directions. The first is led by the United States and Western countries; the other paradigm shift is toward the world stage with China leading the way, supported by Iran, Russia, and Turkey. The old paradigm of world governance seems to have failed to overcome the challenges that include the current pandemic, climate change, wars, and ethnic conflicts.
The Coronavirus pandemic may be an important turning point in American history. The inadequate healthcare, a distrusted electoral process, a cancel culture laid bare over the last several months, the slow economy, the current media-enflamed rise of hate against Asian Americans, the ascension of China, a deficient immigration policy, and a lack of leadership—all indicate that the country needs to address a host of issues and that the old solutions will not work anymore.
The reason China is becoming a world power lies in the country’s consistent investment in high tech innovation. Chinese visit in the middle East also to block the U.S oriented opinion in the region. Not only Iran has received massive investments from China, but Numerous major Chinese companies have chosen Turkey as a regional hub for their companies.
As China shifts the global paradigm and in the process links arms with Iran among others, a cadre of allies resists its expanded military footprint in part through technology as well.
(Dr. Aland Mizell is President of the MCI and a regular contributor to Mindanao Times. You may email the author at:aland_mizell2@hotmail.com)
