‘Nationalism in China has grown with Xi Jinping— many citizens think economic showdowns with the US are part of China's rejuvenation'
Rory Truex is Associate Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University. Speaking to Srijana Mitra Das, he discusses what's driving China — in the era of Donald Trump:
Q. What is the core of your research?
A. I study Chinese politics — I've researched public opinion in China, how citizens think about the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the regime. I've worked on US-China relations and how American foreign policy makers think about US-China ties. Finally, I've been working increasingly on authoritarianism in general and particularly authoritarian trends in the United States and elsewhere in the democratic world
Q. Which main features define the US-China relationship today?
A. The US-China relationship has undergone a significant transformation starting with Donald Trump's first administration. We saw the end of the broad idea of engagement with China then and a shift towards 'strategic competition', which sees these as rival countries, competing economically, in science, military power, international influence, etc. Some in the US policy arena even believe we are in a Cold War with China — we just haven't realised it yet.
Q. How do most Chinese view America under Donald Trump?
A. There is a general decline in attitudes towards the US — and a rise in nationalism, which corresponds with Xi Jinping's ascent. The party has used external competition to foster nationalism at home and frames geopolitical competition with the US as a foreign power trying to contain China's rise — this resonates with Chinese history and the idea of the 'Century of Humiliation'. There are some pockets of admiration for Trump — some Chinese view him as humourous and appreciate his off-the-cuff style. However, these aren't particularly large constituencies. More common is the idea that Trump is eroding American competitiveness and, in turn, helping China's rise.
Q. Can China actually afford to decouple economically from America?
A. My understanding is that full economic decoupling would be costly for both sides. I think this rhetoric from the CCP is a bargaining chip to show resolve before heading into talks. More broadly, the Chinese government has been preparing the population psychologically for war with the US and economic showdowns — Chinese citizens have been socialised into thinking any of those costs are part of the struggle for national rejuvenation.
Q. Does an authoritarian state like China have politics?
A. Yes — it's just difficult to observe. The machinations which occur at the elite level, between Xi Jinping and other leaders in the Politburo and Politburo Standing Committee, cannot be readily observed — so, the degree of disagreement at that level isn't really known beyond signals in state-owned newspapers, etc. There is also mass-level politics — occasionally, the population engages in collective action that shifts policy-making. The 'White Paper Revolution' occurred in 2022 on the back of the long 'Zero-Covid' period in China which became increasingly draconian. Citizens protested then and the government had to roll back some of those policies. The citizen voice is muted — but it has an impact.
Q. Are most state decisions mainly diktat?
A. Of late, the CCP has tried to emphasise 'consultative processes' — this is 'consultative authoritarianism', where a government isn't just ruling by diktat but tries to incorporate public preferences. We see this in China's People's Congress System — every year, deputies convey different suggestions to the government. Laws put forth through the National People's Congress are posted for comment. Citizens can contact municipal governments through Mayor's Mailboxes. There are ways for people to express grievances — the question is, whether the government responds. My assessment is under Xi Jinping, we have not seen a strengthening of such channels. They exist but overall, there's been a relative closing of politics under him. Civil society organisations have been gutted — increasingly, this process is just lip service.
Q. China has some of the world's most capitalistic billionaires — how do they view life under a communist state?
A. Importantly, the CCP shifted its strategy about business elites in the last few decades — under Mao and the early years of Deng Xiaoping, the party was for peasants and workers. Jiang Zemin introduced the concept of 'The Three Represents' which sought 'advanced productive forces' — that's code for 'capital' —– to be brought into the party. Since then, the CCP has been quite cosy with business interests. Since the 2000s, the CCP is quite an elite party — it is nominally communist but in key levels of leadership, you'd be hard-pressed to find working-class people.
Q. Has the drive to become a global superpower reduced dissent in China?
A. It's important to note there are many people in China who dissent. It's hard to see them and several face real consequences. However, people in Xinjiang or Tibet, for instance, would take issue with the CCP, which is basically a Han-dominated regime. Young feminists in China understand the CCP as a traditional patriarchal authoritarian regime, while parts of the periphery, like Hong Kong, are not fully on board. In democracies, disagreements are front and centre — they are organised into parties that raise funds and compete electorally. In China, the party claims to represent everyone but glosses over dissent. Also, the Chinese's government's repressive capacity has increased so much in the last decade that a large-scale mass protest — a Tiananmen 2.0 — is almost impossible today, given the Orwellian level of surveillance. This has implications for its governance and other authoritarian governments.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
31 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
American B-2 stealth bombers head to Guam: Will US use GBU-57 on Iran's nuclear sites before Trump's announcement?
The United States has deployed B-2 Spirit stealth bombers from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri to a strategic airbase in Guam, according to a Jerusalem Post report. The deployment came amid escalating tensions in the Middle East following recent Israeli airstrikes on Iran. The move has also raised concerns about a potential US involvement in Iran, as President Donald Trump will soon announce his decision regarding the Iran-Israel conflict. Donald Trump would make his decision regarding a possible strike on Iran in two weeks, White House said. The deployment came days after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared that the US military was ready to carry out any decision President Donald Trump makes regarding Iran. President Trump recently stated that Iran had missed its opportunity to negotiate before Israeli strikes began. He reportedly has issued a two-week deadline to Tehran to reach a deal. Also Read: Israel-Iran conflict: World War III memes go viral as Trump mulls intervention Israel has also stated that it struck 'at the heart of Iran's nuclear enrichment programme,' Eurasian Times reported. However, it does not have the capability to completely destroy Iran's nuclear program. Israel needs American help to hit Iran's Fordow nuclear plant, the report claimed. The facility is the most heavily fortified nuclear site in Iran and is situated deep inside a mountain. An American-made bunker-busting bomb is the only way the facility can be damaged. The GBU-57, a bomb buster that can break through more than 200 feet of strong concrete is among the capabilities that the B-2 can carry, the Jerusalem Post report added. The 30,000-pound warhead, also named Massive Ordnance Penetrator, can only be deployed on the B-2 bomber. The deployment of the stealth fighters to Guam has ignited concerns about whether the US could strike Fordow. On Friday, the White House said that Trump would make his decision regarding a possible strike on Iran in two weeks. B-2's stealth and strike capabilities The B-2 Spirit, manufactured by Northrop Grumman, can carry both regular and nuclear weapons while staying under the radar, due to its stealthy design. Each B-2 costs about $2.1 billion making it the priciest military plane, the report stated. Only 21 of them were ever built because of budget cuts after the Cold War with one lost in a 2008 crash at Guam. With a flying range of over 6,000 nautical miles non-stop, and the ability to refuel in the air, the B-2 can hit heavily fortified targets like nuclear sites. It can carry up to 40,000 pounds of bombs, including the GBU-57A/B. The bomber can reportedly carry other types of bombs, like JDAMs, JSOWs, and JASSMs, which makes it useful for different kinds of missions. It is a vital part of America's nuclear defense, able to hold up to 16 B83 nuclear bombs. With its tech that helps it dodge radar, low visibility, and a two-person crew, the B-2 is designed for sneaky, safe, and flexible missions, making it a key player in the Pacific. FAQs Q: What caused the B-2 crash in Guam? A: A B-2 bomber crash in Guam in 2008 was caused by moisture in the aircraft's sensors, leading to faulty airspeed readings and a subsequent stall shortly after takeoff. No fatalities occurred. Q: How many B-2 stealth bombers does the US have? A: The United States Air Force currently has 20 B-2 Spirit bombers in its active fleet, with one previously lost in the 2008 Guam crash. Q: Are there B-2 bombers in Guam? A: While not permanently stationed, B-2 bombers are periodically deployed to Guam as part of the US Indo-Pacific Command's bomber rotation. Q: How much is a B-2 stealth bomber worth? A: Each B-2 Spirit costs approximately $2.1 billion, including development, making it the most expensive aircraft ever built.
Time of India
36 minutes ago
- Time of India
Europeans seek 'digital sovereignty' as US tech firms embrace Trump
At a market stall in Berlin run by charity Topio, volunteers help people who want to purge their phones of the influence of US tech firms. Since Donald Trump 's inauguration, the queue for their services has grown. Interest in European-based digital services has jumped in recent months, data from digital market intelligence company Similarweb shows. More people are looking for e-mail, messaging and even search providers outside the United States. The first months of Trump's second presidency have shaken some Europeans' confidence in their long-time ally, after he signalled his country would step back from its role in Europe 's security and then launched a trade war. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Costco Shoppers Say This Wrinkle Cream Is "Actually Worth It" The Skincare Magazine Undo "It's about the concentration of power in US firms," said Topio's founder Michael Wirths, as his colleague installed on a customer's phone a version of the Android operating system without hooks into the Google ecosystem. Wirths said the type of people coming to the stall had changed: "Before, it was people who knew a lot about data privacy. Now it's people who are politically aware and feel exposed." Live Events Tesla chief Elon Musk, who also owns social media company X, was a leading adviser to the US president before the two fell out, while the bosses of Amazon, Meta and Google-owner Alphabet took prominent spots at Trump's inauguration in January. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories Days before Trump took office, outgoing president Joe Biden had warned of an oligarchic "tech industrial complex" threatening democracy. Berlin-based search engine Ecosia says it has benefited from some customers' desire to avoid US counterparts like Microsoft's Bing or Google, which dominates web searches and is also the world's biggest email provider. "The worse it gets, the better it is for us," founder Christian Kroll said of Ecosia, whose sales pitch is that it spends its profits on environmental projects. Similarweb data shows the number of queries directed to Ecosia from the European Union has risen 27% year-on-year and the company says it has 1% of the German search engine market. But its 122 million visits from the 27 EU countries in February were dwarfed by 10.3 billion visits to Google, whose parent Alphabet made revenues of about $100 billion from Europe, the Middle East and Africa in 2024 - nearly a third of its $350 billion global turnover. Non-profit Ecosia earned 3.2 million euros ($3.65 million) in April, of which 770,000 euros was spent on planting 1.1 million trees. Google declined to comment for this story. Reuters could not determine whether major US tech companies have lost any market share to local rivals in Europe. Digital sovereignty The search for alternative providers accompanies a debate in Europe about "digital sovereignty" - the idea that reliance on companies from an increasingly isolationist United States is a threat to Europe's economy and security. "Ordinary people, the kind of people who would never have thought it was important they were using an American service are saying, 'hang on!'," said UK-based internet regulation expert Maria Farrell. "My hairdresser was asking me what she should switch to." Use in Europe of Swiss-based ProtonMail rose 11.7% year-on-year to March compared to a year ago, according to Similarweb, while use of Alphabet's Gmail, which has some 70% of the global email market, slipped 1.9%. ProtonMail, which offers both free and paid-for services, said it had seen an increase in users from Europe since Trump's re-election, though it declined to give a number. "My household is definitely disengaging," said British software engineer Ken Tindell, citing weak US data privacy protections as one factor. Trump's vice president JD Vance shocked European leaders in February by accusing them - at a conference usually known for displays of transatlantic unity - of censoring free speech and failing to control immigration. In May, Secretary of State Marco Rubio threatened visa bans for people who "censor" speech by Americans, including on social media, and suggested the policy could target foreign officials regulating US tech companies. US social media companies like Facebook and Instagram parent Meta have said the European Union's Digital Services Act amounts to censorship of their platforms. EU officials say the Act will make the online environment safer by compelling tech giants to tackle illegal content, including hate speech and child sexual abuse material. Greg Nojeim, director of the Security and Surveillance Project at the Center for Democracy & Technology, said Europeans' concerns about the US government accessing their data, whether stored on devices or in the cloud, were justified. Not only does US law permit the government to search devices of anyone entering the country, it can compel disclosure of data that Europeans outside the US store or transmit through US communications service providers, Nojeim said. Mission impossible? Germany's new government is itself making efforts to reduce exposure to US tech, committing in its coalition agreement to make more use of open-source data formats and locally-based cloud infrastructure. Regional governments have gone further - in conservative-run Schleswig-Holstein, on the Danish border, all IT used by the public administration must run on open-source software. Berlin has also paid for Ukraine to access a satellite-internet network operated by France's Eutelsat instead of Musk's Starlink. But with modern life driven by technology, "completely divorcing US tech in a very fundamental way is, I would say, possibly not possible," said Bill Budington of US digital rights nonprofit the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Everything from push notifications to the content delivery networks powering many websites and how internet traffic is routed relies largely on US companies and infrastructure, Budington noted. Both Ecosia and French-based search engine Qwant depend in part on search results provided by Google and Microsoft's Bing, while Ecosia runs on cloud platforms, some hosted by the very same tech giants it promises an escape from. Nevertheless, a group on messaging board Reddit called BuyFromEU has 211,000 members. "Just cancelled my Dropbox and will switch to Proton Drive," read one post. Mastodon, a decentralised social media service developed by German programmer Eugen Rochko, enjoyed a rush of new users two years ago when Musk bought Twitter, later renamed X. But it remains a niche service. Signal, a messaging app run by a US nonprofit foundation, has also seen a surge in installations from Europe. Similarweb's data showed a 7% month-on-month increase in Signal usage in March, while use of Meta's WhatsApp was static. Meta declined to comment for this story. Signal did not respond to an e-mailed request for comment. But this kind of conscious self-organising is unlikely on its own to make a dent in Silicon Valley's European dominance, digital rights activist Robin Berjon told Reuters. "The market is too captured," he said. "Regulation is needed as well."
Hindustan Times
41 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Zelensky urges Western allies to allot 0.25% GDP for Ukraine's defense industry
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Ukraine's Western partners to allocate 0.25% of their GDP towards helping Kyiv ramp up weapons production, reported Reuters. Ukraine is in immediate need of improved weaponry and better ammunition.(REUTERS) "Ukraine is part of Europe's security and we want 0.25% of the GDP of a particular partner country to be allocated for our defence industry and domestic production," Zelensky said. "We have launched a program 'Build with Ukraine' and in summer we will sign relevant agreements to start exporting our technologies abroad in the format of opening production lines in European countries," Zelensky said. This year Kyiv had secured $43 billion to finance its domestic weapon production, he added. As Russia is bigger and more equipped than Ukraine, and the strife between the two has been escalating in the past few weeks, Zelensky's country is in immediate need of improved weaponry and better ammunition. Kyiv plans to launch joint weapon production outside of the country and will start exporting some of its military production technologies, the President affirmed. In the remarks released for publication by his office on Saturday, Zelenskiy said Ukraine was in talks with Denmark, Norway, Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Lithuania to launch joint weapon production. According to the report, Ukraine's 40% defence needs are presently covered with domestic production, and the government is on the lookout for ways to boost this production in the future. Zelensky attended the G7 summit in Canada last week. He especially wanted to meet US President Donald Trump to discuss the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, help impose stronger sanctions against Russia and urge increased military support for his country. This effort went in vain as Trump left the summit a day early to address the Israel-Iran conflict in Washington. The Ukrainian President is likely to attend the upcoming NATO summit, where he will be meeting several Western leaders. He would also make a second attempt to meet Donald Trump after the G7. With inputs from agencies
