From time to time a small coincidence throws up a salutary reminder of the new geopolitical constellation. This happened the other day when Xi Jinping travelled to the US for talks with Barack Obama and, simultaneously, Beijing fired a broadside at Brussels. For a European, it was an distinctly unsettling experience.
As the US and Chinese presidents strolled in the sunshine at the Sunnylands resort in Palm Springs, mapping out what Mr Xi calls a new type of “great power” relationship, the People’s Daily published a trenchant editorial underlining Beijing’s rather frostier view of Europe. The wary respect afforded by Mr Xi to the leader of what is still the world’s sole superpower was notably absent from the message sent to America’s transatlantic allies.
The editorial appeared under the pen name Zhong Sheng, which sounds much the same in Mandarin as “Voice of China”. The casus belli was a burgeoning trade dispute with the European Commission about China’s alleged dumping of solar panels. The sentiments, though, went beyond an expression of anger at Karel De Gucht, the EU trade commissioner.