Whoever wins the US presidency, Washington’s relationship with Beijing will remain turbulent

From the economy to the military, human rights to coronavirus, the relationship between the US and China will be severely tested over the next few years, reports Kim Sengupta

Donald Trump and Xi Jinping shake hands during an event in Beijing, 2017 (AFP/Getty)

The relationship between the US and China, the world’s only superpower and the country striving to supplant it, will be the most dominant issue in the geopolitics of the future with repercussions around the world.

From a hugely expanded economy to a string of military bases abroad; the spread of hegemony through infrastructure plans like the “belt and road programme”, to the takeover of key positions in global institutions, Beijing has made enormous international strides. And this has happened at a time when Donald Trump has repeatedly disavowed multilateralism, been proudly insular, and alienated allies in the west and beyond.

The impact of coronavirus, the existential threat facing the world today, has, at one level, been very good for Beijing. The Chinese economy is bouncing back stronger than those of other major countries. And Xi Jinping’s regime has sought to use its grip on the supply chain of medical and emergency equipment to seek international leadership.