Hindustan Times ·
China is not ready for a post-American world
Donald Trump’s disaster in Iran has come too soon for China to take full advantage
MIDDLE EASTERN rulers are livid with President Donald Trump, who together with Israel unleashed a war on Iran without a serious plan for ending it. They are disappointed by China’s leader, Xi Jinping, who has failed to twist arms and bang heads in the cause of peace, though his country enjoys unique economic leverage over every party to the conflict.
On the face of it, fury with Mr Trump is more consequential than dismay at Mr Xi. A fear of abandonment by America is having real-world effects. Big countries such as Saudi Arabia are hedging and deepening security ties with other partners, from Turkey to Pakistan. Actually, as a guide to the global balance of power and its reshaping by the war, Mr Xi’s caution is just as revealing.
