Donald Trump’s impeachment crisis may be China’s latest stroke of luck, blunting the US’ most serious challenge to its rise
- Since 1989, the US has repeatedly tried to put pressure on China, only to back down for political reasons
- Trump’s challenge to China has surpassed his predecessors’, but his Ukraine scandal may bring it to an early end too
It seems implausible that China can benefit from this development, not least since Foreign Minister Wang Yi has publicly reiterated Beijing’s commitment to non-interference in other states’ internal affairs. But over the last three decades, China has benefited from a string of remarkable lucky breaks.
In repeated crises since 1989, Beijing has simply held the line and developments have turned in their favour.
When it was clear that the party was not going to budge, the sanctioning states simply did not have the stomach for a drawn-out conflict in which they sacrificed their economic interests for the abstract goal of a more liberal and democratic China.
In May 1993, the administration of Bill Clinton established a policy linking the granting of US “most favoured nation” trade status to improvements in China’s human rights practices.
