quote:
The Chinese Communist Party has been tirelessly promoting a narrative to non-Western populations: First, the U.S. is in decline; second, China’s rise and dominance are assured; and third, the eclipse of the West is inevitable.

As Xi Jinping met with President Trump this week, the Chinese leader wanted the meeting to appear as though a fading and resentful U.S. is continuing to pass the torch to an ascendant and magnanimous China.

quote:
Iran war, might have carelessly conceded in Beijing, even if no grand bargain was on the table. But a desperate Xi was even more anxious as he confronted growing domestic criticism for his overreach and heavy-handed mishandling of his country’s politics and the economy.

This is because Trump has inadvertently but effectively disrupted China’s carefully crafted script about American impotence and irrelevance. China, rather than the U.S., is on the back foot.

To advance its narrative, Beijing weaponizes history and claims to be a victim of the West. Its historical perspective can be convincing because it mixes elements of truth with substantial falsehoods and misrepresentations. It begins with the so-called century of humiliation at the hands of Western and Japanese powers from the mid-1800s onward, followed by the Chinese Communist Party’s sacred mission to return China to greatness and preeminence.

quote:
Xi’s notion of Chinese rejuvenation feeds on this narrative. According to his framing, the end of the Second World War left the world in an unnatural state. By historical accident, America became the dominant power. From this position, the U.S. cleverly built and supported institutions that gave it an unmatched global role and relevance.

quote:
But Xi claims that China is changing these institutions from within. Beijing is successfully challenging the West and making the global system fairer so that non-Western have-nots can prosper. Dealing with Washington and gradually surpassing America in power and influence are the all-important steps that will rejuvenate China so that it can supposedly help others escape and transcend the Western-built global system.

quote:
Xi did not anticipate the extent to which Trump has been willing to defy convention, take huge risks and break things to reverse all these pillars of growing Chinese advantage. Not all of Trump’s recent decisions have been about China, but China nevertheless finds itself in a worse strategic position because of them.

quote:
Xi confronted a difficult environment during his meeting with Trump. The U.S. and its allies in Europe and Asia are rearming. Washington and Israel are now calling the shots in the Middle East at China’s and Russia’s expense. Beijing’s influence in Latin America is greatly diminished. Meanwhile, America is reindustrializing and resetting a trading relationship that had benefited China illegitimately and disproportionately.

Following the meeting with Trump, the pathway to dominance is far less assured than the Chinese leader believed not long ago. LINK