STEVEN KUO: It’s not just US vs China — the EU is watching

Two of the world’s largest economies have been at loggerheads in 2020, and neither side will step back. When the US closed the Chinese consulate in Houston after accusing Beijing of espionage, the predictable retaliation came with the shutting of the US consulate in Chengdu.

What we are witnessing is a championship fight. That the Chinese have lasted this long, matching the US punch for punch, round for round, shows how powerful China has become. Sure, it is taking a beating, but the US just can’t score the knockout punch. The unipolar liberal global order, where the US-led West called all the shots, is no more.

The EU has denied China developing country status, which would confer benefits under World Trade Organization rules, and chastised Italy for taking part in China’s Belt & Road Initiative. While the US has been making all the noise, the EU has been quietly nursing its growing discontent with China. In Africa we have a proverb: when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. When Trump banned WeChat, the JSE took a knock because the app is owned by Chinese tech giant Tencent, in which SA’s Naspers has a substantial stake.

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