Two stories on the news tonight: First is that Joe Biden put out a statement tonight warning foreign governments, and Russia in particular, that if they try to interfere with our November election, they will pay a heavy price for doing so. (Assuming Biden wins in spite of their interference.)
Second story is that China is openly pissed at Trump: 'U.S. is pressing the accelerator to trash’ relations, China says
“Some in the U.S., driven by ideological bias, have been sparing no effort to paint China as a rival or even adversary, smear and attack China and encircle and contain its development,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters Friday. “The U.S. is pressing the accelerator to trash China-U.S. relations, while China is putting the brakes on,” she said.
The Malignant Mangoface has been back and forth on China so many times it makes me long for a ping-pong match, as it would easier on the neck. But at the same time, he will not say or hear a mean word about Putin, even after it was leaked that Russia has put a bounty on the soldiers the Commander in Chief is supposed to command.
Now, what follows from this is speculation. We live in a multipolar world, in which China, Russia, and the US are involved in a complex relationship, though only two of the parties understand what they are doing. Both Russia and China have global ambitions, and both see the United States as standing in their way. Now, the Incompetent Idiot has done his worst to get out of their way, but very clumsily and with lots of false notes. Russia, I am convinced, doesn’t mind, because they like chaos (outside their borders), the see NATO and other US alliances as hemming them in, and they are also concerned about the democratic ideal that we (used to) exemplify. China, on the other hand, isn’t bothered by our democracy, has managed to weaken our alliances through diplomacy, bribes, and occasional threats, and doesn’t much care for chaos.
An additional factor is that Putin wants revenge for the breakup of the Soviet Union (though that was, as the Marxists would say, inevitable), and he still (incorrectly) blames the US and especially Clinton for the Green Revolution that toppled his puppet in Kiev. China may still be sore over the way the West, the US included, exploited it in the XIX century, but they are also more patient and less willing on the whole to let their emotions influence policy.
On top of that, China and Russia also understand that they are rivals to each other in this XXI century version of the Great Game.
Finally, it is a fact that Russia interfered in our election in 2016 and is doing so again. Whether or not they succeed in keeping their puppet in the Oval Office, they will have advanced their cause if they put the election in doubt, stir up unrest, generally generate chaos.
Now for the speculation: China won’t like that. They won’t be thrilled with Biden, but they know that when they deal with him, they count on him meaning what he says. The Bloated Orange Misfit is too unpredictable for their taste, and they already have one discombobulated dictator on their border to deal with. Their long term plan requires a certain amount of stability in the world. On top of which, they wouldn’t object to putting a kink in Putin’s plans.
So I suggest that China may try some cyber warfare of its own in the election — against Russia. Look for them to interfere in their interference. And Biden won’t object, because China won’t be directly interfering in our election, but in Russia meddling.
We live in interesting times.