The choice of words used by the communist rulers in Beijing is becoming sharper.
This is not really surprising, after all, for some time now they have had the unpleasant experience that not everyone in the world is frozen in awe of them, that their expansionism meets with resistance and that their practices of domination cost sympathy.
Perhaps it is not bad at all that the conflict between the West and China is not played down, but comes to the fore even at diplomatic encounters such as the reception of the US Deputy Secretary of State. In this way, it is clear to everyone the conditions under which the future relationship is being negotiated.
China stylizes itself as a victim of American demonization, misguided thinking and a dangerous politics of Washington. Indeed, American politics has become capricious in recent years; Above all, for a long time she was inspired, for example, by the illusion that China's economic rise would have a politically liberalizing effect and was free from ambitions for power. The Chinese striving for dominance has removed this illusion; in the West there is - finally - a spirit of resistance. Beijing's propagandists are right on one point: the United States itself is responsible for its structural problems (although China's exports do play a role). That does not change the fact that the collision course between the two countries is highly risky.