Opinion | Danger of escalating US-China conflict is heightened by advances in AI and quantum computing

A quite discernible trend in many parts of the world in recent months is the growing fear, anger and even hatred of China. It is especially noticeable in the United States, Europe and Japan.

In the US, antipathy towards China recently grew as a product of the trade dispute. The Democratic Party, the mainstream media and academia then joined US President Donald Trump to add grievances and amplify ill feeling towards China. Anti-China sentiment in America is now at a record high.

In Europe, there is apprehension about China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which has been active in building road, rail, pipeline and other infrastructure in Africa, Asia and Europe, and the prospect of China becoming an economic powerhouse. European countries and their citizens feel upstaged. China’s rapid economic growth and its expanding military power also expose the European Union as a declining global force, which most Europeans find hard to accept and resent China for.

Japan is out of the race to be the dominant power in Asia because China has surpassed Japan in both economic and military might. This, and a territorial dispute, have fed ill feeling towards China that a poll indicates 85 per cent of Japanese hold.