Since the time US President Donald Trump contemplated a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his proposed visit to Beijing on 14-15 May — rescheduled from late March — the balance of power in world affairs has shifted.

Trump’s failure to knock out Iran in an unlawful, unprovoked, pre-emptive strike — indeed to be checkmated by that proud Asian nation — means he will arrive in the Chinese capital with a relatively weak hand. India’s northern neighbour will attempt to make the best of this, though Trump is bound to spin it differently.

Joerg Wuttke, a former president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, told the media, “The US is fighting without winning, China is winning without fighting.”

William Klein, a US diplomat who organised Trump’s sojourn to Beijing in 2017, disagreed somewhat. Speaking to reporters earlier this week he said, “The leverage hasn’t changed, it hasn’t strengthened, or [at least] it hasn’t weakened because of the Iran war to date”. He did however admit, “Obviously, the Iran war casts a shadow on the visit, will shape this visit…”

Iran is China’s closest partner in the Persian Gulf. Therefore, for the People’s Republic, American aggression was not only an assault against a friend, but a proxy attack on China. Iran’s oil and gas supplies, which are vital for the Chinese economy, have been disrupted by the US Navy’s presence in the Gulf and latterly its blockade of Iranian ship movement. A former Chinese diplomat Cui Hongjian went on record to say the West Asia crisis has “seriously disrupted” China’s overall planning.

CNN quoted an informed Chinese source as giving the impression that the US’s “conflict with Iran [had] potentially strengthened its ‘negotiating position’.” Beijing views the upcoming meeting as a singular opportunity to secure a more stable long-term relationship with Washington.

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© National Herald