søndag 30. mai 2021

‘Dangerous decade ahead’: warnings for US and China in global showdown

Two former senior Western politicians have warned Beijing and Washingtonto find ways to manage their differences or risk catastrophic consequences. The warnings were delivered at the International Finance Forum in Beijing on Saturday and reflected deep concern about the growing divide between China and the United States over the origin of the coronavirus, the imposition of the national security law in Hong Kong, alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang, Taiwan and the South China Sea.

In a pre-recorded speech to the forum, former US treasury secretary Henry Paulson said some “strategic decoupling will be necessary to protect national security”. “But if this goes too far, it will create what I’ve called an ‘economic iron curtain’,” Paulson said via video link.