China, the US and the dangers of a war of words over national decline
- An apparent chip advance by tech giant Huawei is being touted at home as a win over US sanctions and further evidence of waning American power
- Washington also sees Beijing’s power ebbing as it engages in a narrative battle that some analysts say could see bilateral relations spin out of control
There was no press release to announce its launch and no chip specifications for prospective buyers.
But that did not stop the device – believed to be equipped with an advanced chip made in China – from being thrust into the front line in the narrative war between China and the United States.
It is part of a bigger picture that China is painting of US decline in which the failure of US containment efforts reflects the United States’ shrinking global influence.
But, equally, voices are growing in Washington that China’s decades-long “economic boom is over” and it is the one on the wane.
The competing stories each tells of the other’s fading glory are attempts both at suppression and to serve domestic agendas, observers say, but such tactics could be dangerous and could spin relations between the two countries out of control.