‘China May Provoke Some Incident With India As A Face Saving Escape’

NEW DELHI: The coming US presidential elections will be closely watched all over the world, more so in China where the top leadership is counting heavily on the defeat of President Trump and the victory of Joe Biden. Trump is seen as the architect of the rapid “economic de-coupling” resulting in the world turning away from China and seeking alternatives. In an exclusive chat with StratNews Global, Prof. Yen Jien-Fa of Chien Hsin University in Taiwan, says President Xi Jinping’s position will be weakened if Trump returns. This does not mean he has any rivals in the Communist Party, but his authority and policies will be increasingly questioned. In Prof Yen’s view, Xi’s position will be fragile. He believes India has shown consistency and a strong hand in the current standoff with China in Ladakh. China may provoke some incident maybe here, maybe elsewhere if only to give itself a face-saving way out of the current situation there. China is not interested in a military conflict with India, this border is of less strategic importance to Beijing than the South China Sea and its littoral neighbors. Xi Jinping has got himself trapped into this situation owing to the authoritarian nature of the system he presides over. His advisors are largely hawks driven by some vision of China’s past greatness. Xi himself being a product of the Cultural Revolution, is driven by conflict and the urge to dominate. Prof Yen says he is not optimistic about China’s future.