The Coming War with China? By Srdja Trifkovic.

Over the past few weeks we have witnessed a rapid and (for the past half-century) unprecedented worsening of relations between the United States and China. …

In his remarks to the UN Security Council on September 26, President Donald Trump accused China point-blank of “attempting to interfere in our upcoming 2018 election . . . against my administration.” With Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi listening impassively only yards away, Trump asserted that Chinese “do not want me or us to win, because I am the first president ever to challenge China on trade, and we are winning on trade, we are winning at every level.” Wang subsequently tried to shrug off Trump’s charges, asserting later in the UNSC session that China’s long-standing policy is to not interfere in the domestic affairs of other countries.

The incident reflected a constant theme in this year’s UN General Assembly, “the increasingly pitched rivalry between the world´s two superpowers.” Trump’s remarkable Security Council accusation was preceded by his gutsy UNGA speech on September 25 in which he declared that Beijing’s economic policies “cannot be tolerated” anymore. …

Then came Vice President Pence’s big China speech at the Hudson Institute in Washington. Long billed as the address meant to provide a strategic outline of the approach to China for the Trump administration, it was both detailed and stern. Pence stressed U.S. contributions to China’s rise and elaborated on how China has allegedly betrayed American benevolence by actively harming U.S. economic and security interests. He also outlined a new U.S. approach to China, which essentially stresses competition over cooperation …

China’s economy is now greater in size than that of the United States, and Beijing is seeking geopolitical adjustments to that reality.

hat-tip Stephen Neil