TEHRAN – American political analyst Martin Love says that the U.S. has been locked in the post 9/11 foreign policy. In contrast, Love says, China has preferred to focus on its economy and be away from wars.

“The U.S. literally seems stuck in foreign policies arising from 9/11 and some wise observers have claimed Biden has a complete lack of self-awareness that the world has moved on without the United States, which has been locked into a certain foreign policy mindset for two decades,” Love tells the Tehran Times.

“Governments have been toppled by the U.S. and countries more or less destroyed and U.S. sanctions have taken a horrific toll, particularly in West Asia,” the political analyst points out.

China has made every effort to improve its economy by establishing trade ties with Asian and African states. Some Arab states are also noticing that U.S. allies are turning to China as an alternative if Washington leave them alone in future crises.

“The Chinese have not started wars and patiently focused on their economy and relations, non-violent relations, with other countries. This path seems, in the long run, to ensure that China’s influence in the Far East will grow on a net basis in coming years,” Love notes.

Following is the text of the interview:

Q: Why doesn’t the U.S. want to acknowledge China as a global power?

A: Since when has the U.S. acknowledged, much less cheered, the growing global position of any country that challenges U.S. primacy? This is the core of the problematic differences between China and the U.S. now.

“The U.S. has made a mess in many countries; Afghanistan is just an example.” Some have claimed the Chinese economy is currently bigger than the U.S. economy, and given Chinese efforts to garner allies across Asia and corral the region with economic agreements, especially through its “Belt and Road” initiatives, the U.S. sees China as a threat rather than any successful country that merits cooperation.

 For a very long time, for one thing, the trade deficit with China has just expanded enormously, but this is not a fault of China.  U.S. corporations offshored much of their manufacturing capacity to China and some other Asian countries over a period of three decades in the pursuit of profits through the use of relatively cheap Asian labor. The greed of U.S. corporations knows few bounds, and by most descriptions, the U.S. is in the grip of fascism and meanwhile most Americans are suffering economically while the top five percent of Americans are wallowing in untold wealth. China has also pulled back from helping support the U.S. It has sold billions of U.S. Treasury bonds and has pulled back from buying more. China may be in a position eventually to sink the dollar, too, as the world reserve currency. President Biden does recognize the problems. He has noted that U.S. infrastructure has fallen from the best in the world to the 13th. But just as importantly, he has said that America ranks 35th out of 37 major economies when it comes to investing in early childhood education and care and adds that the U.S. cannot be competitive in the 21st century if the country continues to slide. Thus he is trying to pass a bill amounting to at least $2 trillion to address the needs of average Americans but is getting stiff resistance from Republicans and even some Democrats in the U.S. Congress in part because this U.S. is sitting on almost $30 trillion in debt.

Q: Do you think U.S. allies in the Asia-Pacific region can help to curb China’s influence?

A: The Biden Administration is trying hard to counter the Chinese in the Far East especially with military supports lately centered on Australia. As a result of these shenanigans, some allies, most notably France, have been angered by the U.S. deal with Australia to build non-nuclear submarines for Australia. In fact, there appears to be a growing distrust of the U.S. among many of its allies, or at least some questions about U.S. intentions. 

The U.S. literally seems stuck in foreign policies arising from 9/11, and some wise observers have claimed Biden has a complete lack of self-awareness that the world has moved on without the United States, which has been locked into a certain foreign policy mindset for two decades. Governments have been toppled by the U.S. and countries more or less destroyed, and U.S. sanctions have taken a horrific toll, particularly in West Asia. Meanwhile, the Chinese have not started wars and patiently focused on its economy and relations, non-violent relations, with other countries. This path seems, in the long run, to ensure that China’s influence in the Far East will grow on a net basis in coming years.

Q: How do you see Afghanistan’s future after the U.S. withdrawal? Do you predict China will take the lead in Afghanistan’s economic development?

A: China must and should take the lead in assisting beleaguered Afghanistan. Of course, Beijing worries about Islamic influence and unrest in western China. Helping the Afghans is critical not only for the success of the Belt and Road initiative but in helping China avoid a neighbor that could descend into anarchy, chaos and “terrorism”.

 The U.S. has made an utter mess in so many countries, and Afghanistan is a good example of that.  It’s unlikely the U.S. will be welcome in Afghanistan, but China may be especially if it does the right things to assist the country. The U.S. occupation of Afghanistan did very little for the country and its people and killed many thousands. This is why the Taliban won the war in large part. It’s quite amazing, and the U.S. looks like a huge loser on many counts. The withdrawal debacle could well sink the Biden Presidency, but the gravest worry is that Trump, if he is not soon indicted and ultimately jailed, could come back to the White House in 2024. This is an indictment of many Americans’ judgments!

Q: Do you expect any confrontation or exacerbation in the U.S.-China relations under Biden’s presidency?

A: One could expect the U.S., given that the government now apparently sees China as its primary enemy of sorts, will not be constructive and exacerbate tensions if not start another war. But the latter would be insane, especially over Taiwan. There is great danger, not only for the U.S. and China but for the world. 

Is the U.S. going to continue to insist on military hegemony worldwide and continue its bellicose postures? One problem is that the American economy has been so hollowed out that the Military-Industrial Complex almost has become the economy! If the U.S. begins to stress cooperation and recognize a multipolar world, then maybe humanity can be saved, and the environment, too, which has to be at the bottom the biggest problem facing humanity in the decades ahead. But the U.S. has been short on wisdom in Washington and big on arrogance and exceptionalism, and average Americans have long been afflicted by such. 

Some observers have suggested that a sort of revolution COULD occur in the U.S. unless Washington and Wall Street wise up. Another related problem is that it seems the policymakers in Washington virtually demand that the U.S. create “enemies.” Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the great unnecessary enemy has been some countries dominated by Muslims. This may be waning, and now China takes center stage, but China is no pushover. And one must not forget that the U.S. is virtually broke, and printing fiat dollars is undermining the monetary system.