A Pox on Your Americana: What’s Next for U.S.-China Relations
The vitriol in Alaska may have been meant for domestic audiences but it is too early for Beijing to be declaring the end of Washington’s global sway.
The Chinese and U.S. delegations face off in Alaska.
Photographer: Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty ImagesThe message China’s top diplomats delivered at last week’s contentious conference with U.S. officials in Alaska was simple and stark: Pax Americana is dead.
Politburo member Yang Jiechi made it crystal clear to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the days of America’s great mission to bring democracy to the world are over, that American-style democracy is not universal, and Beijing does not have to adhere to its values, like it or not. “Many people within the United States actually have little confidence in the democracy of the United States,” Yang said.