REAL DETENTE OR PHONEY PEACE
It was a sobering reality check on how limited the ambitions are.
Is this the new normal in US-China relations? Plenty of optics and emphasis placed on personal relationships, no rocking of the boat, and lowered expectations of what can be achieved from their cooperative efforts?
It might well be what strategic stability looks like.
The question is whether it can endure and lead to lasting peace and security for all, including the rest of the world.
There is a danger that, instead of laying the groundwork of a more lasting relationship between the two, it might deepen the divide.
Beneath the surface, both the US and China are working relentlessly to strengthen their capabilities and reduce their vulnerabilities.
For the US, it is about regaining its manufacturing prowess at home, building up its supply of critical resources including rare earth and maintaining its edge in advanced chips and AI-related technology.
As for China, it wants to be self-reliant in critical areas of its development and not be hostage to the US, to improve its capabilities in advanced technology and in innovation.
Is strategic stability merely the means for both sides to have more time to work on their capabilities, so as to have an edge against the other or will it lay the foundation for a more stable working relationship?
Is it real detente or a phoney peace?
It is too early to say and there are no clear answers, yet.
Han Fook Kwang was a veteran newspaper editor and is Senior Fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University.
