Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at [email protected] or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification. A day before Presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden
met this week, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters at a press briefing that both sides had worked hard to pave the way for this meeting. He made it a point to say: “President Biden comes into this summit on a solid footing, given the ways in which he has positioned the United States to be able to compete effectively both at home and around the world.”
No one doubts that the US is still the most powerful country – and the only hegemonic power – in the world. However, the fact that Sullivan had to emphasise this suggests US confidence is not as before.
By contrast, it would seem that since the
Chinese balloon saga early this year, China has not been worried about its cold and distant relationship with the US. Over many long years, China has gradually developed into a solid regional power with some confidence.
Remember the
meeting in March 2021 between the US and Chinese delegations led respectively by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Yang Jiechi, then director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission? To Blinken’s mention of the “rules-based international order”, Yang
rebutted: “I don’t think the overwhelming majority of countries in the world would recognise that the universal values advocated by the United States or that the opinion of the United States could represent international public opinion, and those countries would not recognise that the rules made by a small number of people would serve as the basis for the international order.”
Such strong words from a senior Chinese official had rarely been heard.
What is today’s international order and who has the final say? It is not the UN, but the most powerful country, or – soon – countries. There will be no winners if the US cannot work with China. The US has probably recognised this; it will work on the bilateral relationship because it has to.
As can be expected, even though there are no real breakthroughs coming out of the meeting on November 15, there will be some mechanisms between the two powers to
address and manage some pressing issues.
Great-power politics has changed subtly, and the change started in 2021.
Fion Yip, Guangzhou
Russia’s Asia overtures rely on more than memories
I refer to
the article, “Memory allies: how Russia builds support in Southeast Asia by invoking shared historical narratives” (November 10).
We in Russia have a rather weird proverb: a man who has had his head chopped off shouldn’t weep over losing his hat. It is fully applicable to the West since after disrupting its ties with China over Taiwan, it doesn’t matter how it fares elsewhere in the region. Especially after its military debacles in Vietnam and Laos, which are still vividly remembered by veterans on both sides.
Latvian composer Raimonds Pauls once admitted that while there was a limited demand for his songs in his language, if released in Russian, they would have a huge market in the former Soviet republics. Likewise, the West with English may be modestly successful in Eastern Europe, but less so in Southeast Asia, which is heavily influenced by a Chinese-speaking economic giant nearby.
Your author is right that memories are selective. That’s why as a Muscovite, I assume that the Kremlin relies really on the current situation: more and more yuan-based international contracts, more and more Russian energy resources diverted from Europe to Asia, and Europe itself more and more unwilling to support Ukraine.
Yes, the changes are still insignificant, but as an English proverb goes, mighty oaks from little acorns grow.
Mergen Mongush, Moscow
At 70, Macau Grand Prix has much to be proud of
Many children liked playing racing car games in Macau in the early 1970s. I was no exception. With a racetrack drawn marked on the ground with chalk or red bricks, competitors placed their plastic toy racing cars behind the starting line. Imagining themselves to be some famous driver, like
Albert Poon from Hong Kong, participants pushed their cars as fast and skilfully as possible to win the race.
Many little boys indeed were fanatic about the
Macau Grand Prix. Founded in 1954 as a sports car event, the Macau Grand Prix has become famous around the world. This year marks the
70th anniversary of the great event, which has attracted a number of eminent Formula Three drivers from around the world to compete on its Guia Circuit. F3 racing is finally making a comeback after three years of Covid-19 closure.
The Guia Circuit is known for its
perilous tracks where several drivers have died. However, many world-class drivers continue to challenge one of the most dangerous race tracks in the world. Formula One world champions Ayrton Senna da Silva and Michael Schumacher won their first Formula Three championship in Macau in 1983 and 1990 respectively.
Macau residents have been proud of these two champions because of their great achievements in car racing. These days, the Macau Grand Prix has become synonymous with traffic congestion, but most people still support the event because of the sports culture and the event’s contribution to motor racing.
Barnaby Ieong, Macau
