Trump's China Visit Signals Global Power Shift Amid New Alliances

Trump's volatile foreign policy is pushing China to open its doors to a host of world leaders lately, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

These were traditional allies of the US, and did not make visits to the nation since Covid-19 pandemic. But the tables have turned since Trump's stubbornness to acquire Greenland and imposition of tariffs on the EU, and pushing the bloc to spike its defence spending.

And in broader conversations taking place across gatherings like the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Western leaders are openly acknowledging that the US-backed post-1945 order is being eclipsed - a view not completely out of step with China's.

Carney, in his visit - the first from a Canadian prime minister since 2017 - relaxed stringent tariffs on China-made electric vehicles that Canada had imposed in line with the US in exchange for an easing of barriers on Canadian agricultural goods, as per CNN.

Separately, Beijing and the European Union last month softened their tones and came to an agreement to replace tariffs on Chinese EVs with commitments to sell at minimum prices, as per CNN.

Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Politico that the US relationship with China has reached a "very good equilibrium" where disagreements are less likely to turn into full-scale economic conflict as they did last year. Bessent said that US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping could meet up to four times this year and have a productive rapport.

"When the leaders are setting the tone for the overall relationship, if there are glitches, if there are hiccups, then they can jump on phone calls and de-escalate very quickly," he said, as per Politico.

- ANI