Why the U.S. wants to remain number one

In his desperation, and that of the U.S. of course, President Joe Biden has inadvertently let the cat out of the bag. At last, the truth is out on the real reason behind perennial baseless accusations against China, even when all evidence points to the complete opposite of such allegations.

On Thursday, Biden said that China wants to be the most wealthy and powerful country. "They have an overall goal to become the leading country in the world, the wealthiest country in the world, and the most powerful country in the world. That's not gonna happen on my watch."

Wow! What an admission. But the worst part is for Biden to vow that China’s alleged fight to the top will not happen during his term in office. Who gave him the moral high ground to stand on and make such a presumptuous statement? How can he or the U.S. abrogate themselves the power to decide who can become or not become what they want?

Anyway, it informs former President Donald Trump’s ridiculous trade war with China, akin to a heavyweight boxing champ punching below his weight and crying foul. A more apt analogy would be a motor vehicle dealer asking a vegetable seller why he is not buying his top of the range cars. But that was Trump’s weapon of choice, which failed miserably to deliver the blow.    

In comes Biden who took a different baton after the trade war debacle – the Xinjiang issue. Since being sworn in on January 20, Biden has not lost an opportunity to cry wolf about human rights abuse, genocide and other fictitious crimes allegedly perpetrated in Xinjiang by the Chinese government. But with each passing day these claims are sounding hollow and ironically eroding the little credibility the U.S. has left.

But give it to Biden. Unlike other Western leaders who use various underhand strategies and lame excuses to sabotage China’s policies and relations through subterfuge, Biden is an honest man. He has expressed what was on the minds of those who wonder why the U.S. has such angst and envy against its worthy geopolitical equal.

Make no mistake though, the growing paranoia is real. A TIME magazine opinion published on March 25 titled, “How a Shared Goal to Dismantle White Supremacy Is Fueling Black-Asian Solidarity”, claims that after the recent shooting of eight Asian-Americans in the Atlanta Area and systemic racism facing Black Americans, the two races are now closing ranks to fight a common enemy. I guess that is a story for another day.

May be the question we should ask is why the U.S. wants to remain number one. Well, first, it does not want to lose its hegemony. Having got used to being on top of everyone else economically, socially and politically, the superpower does not want to compromise or share its powers and privileges for its sheer benefits.

Secondly, the U.S. wants to continue dictating to others what they can and cannot do by intervening, nay, interfering with other countries’ internal affairs. With puppet regimes in place, there will be little opposition as the country runs roughshod over others to have its way. This will help it maintain the hitherto geopolitical status quo where it dictated international relations between nations through its carrot and stick cancel culture that isolates and then strangles its foes until they can’t breathe.

Thirdly, it wants to remain as the biggest consumer of the world’s resources so it can determine major world commodity and product prices in perpetuity. It wants to maintain the dominance of the U.S. dollar as the default global currency. Without the dollar the U.S. economy would crumble as a house built on quicksand.

More importantly, what does Biden mean by swearing that China’s rise to first position – forget for a moment that China is not in competition – will not happen as long as he is president? Does he mean that he will stop it by any means necessary, even if it means starting a war with China? If I were Biden, I would appreciate that China’s rise is helping to take off a chunk of the burden that previously sat on his country’s head.

If the trajectory America has taken particularly since the pandemic erupted is anything to go by, China does not have to raise a finger for the superpower’s downfall or, well, to become number one. The fundamentals that have propped the U.S. are crumbling down and the country is unknowingly committing harakiri.

But if Biden was a student of history he would know that China’s rise is simply a matter of destiny. From 200 B.C. to 1800, China was one of the richest nations and greatest civilizations on earth. It was only a matter of time before China reclaimed its past glory.