GOOD MORNING FROM LONDON #239 2 JUNE 2021

Does China overreact to criticism? Whether the topic is Xinjiang, Taiwan or Covid-19 China is immediately on the front foot taking its arguments direct to its critics.

Is this right or wrong? Is China immature + short-sighted or is China alert and eager to confront its critics? We have to recall the words of Yang Jiechi, Politburo Member, at Anchorage when he confronted Secretary of State Blinken + told him that the days of talking down to China were over.

The West sees China’s new confrontational style as counter-productive + an expression of closed minds + political paranoia. The West is wrong. The significance is that China has stood up + on the basis of its achievements for 1.4bn people has confidence in its dealings with its adversaries. Dire predictions of millions of Covid-19 deaths in China has been proved to be untrue as China shames the West with its rollout of vaccines for the developing world.

US academics cite the Thucydides Principle. War is on the agenda – not inevitable but likely. China is surrounded by US bases not vice-versa.