The Indo Daily: Is Xi Jinping vs Donald Trump the battle for the new world order?
Indo dailyWe are in a new era of global superpowers – and while Ireland has always sat comfortably with America, this week the Taoiseach has been enjoying the company of Xi Jinping rather than Donald Trump.It’s an interesting place for Micheál Martin to be: caught in the middle of the battle for the new world order. A one-sided battle in some sense, perhaps.“For China, the US was, is, and remains adversary number one,” says Alexander Dukalskis, associate professor at the School of Politics and Relations at UCD, on the Indo Daily podcast.“One of its long-term strategic goals is to drive a wedge between the United States and Europe, which makes Trump’s move towards Europe really inexplicable if you think he’s actually interested in taking on China. The idea that Trump is tough on China or sees China as the main rival doesn’t really cohere with the Trump administration’s policies.”So why is Xi Jinping so interested in Ireland?“I think it sees Ireland as a potentially friendly voice in the European Union,” says Dukalskis. “China likes that Ireland is not in Nato and is militarily neutral. China has a real deep distrust and dislike for Nato.”From an Irish perspective, is it all just about making money? And how did the Taoiseach perform this week when it came to answering questions on the US invasion of Venezuela, and on China’s human rights record? Irish Independent political correspondent Cónal Thomas reports from Shanghai.
