China, Sisci: “Tension is growing with the US, a central issue for Italy with the G20”

A “hole in the water” which is a prelude to an “increase in tensions”. Francesco Sisci, sinologist, professor of geopolitics at Luiss, thus reads the Tianjin talks between China and the United States after those in March in Alaska, the first face to face between the leaders of the two powers in the Biden era, and in view of the summit of the heads of state and government of the G20 at the end of October in Rome. An appointment from which a “split” on the Chinese question could emerge, which would lead directly to Italy, in domestic politics, the centrality of the dossier. In Tianjin “Americans and Chinese have said to each other all the things that do not go towards each other – summarizes Sisci – Both say that we must continue to talk to each other, but in reality it seems that the distances are increasing”. Not only does it appear that the two powers “not come close”, but there are also no signs “that either of them are willing to step back.” In fact, not a surprise. The two powers were aware of the result but – observes the expert – they sought the meeting for “two different purposes”. “Probably – he says – it was important for the Chinese to have an opportunity to substantiate their position” internally, “after the surprise and confusion of Anchorage”, while for the Americans “it was probably an opportunity for foreign policy” to “show allies and the world that the United States does not want conflict, it seeks dialogue, but based on its principles and values”. ‘Past mistakes risk weighing on the present and the future’ According to the sinologist, we must expect “still a rise in tensions” and in view of the G20 it is “very unlikely” a summit between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the summit and “it is possible that Xi will not really come to Rome”. The summit risks, says Sisci, “not to be a meeting on the revival of the global economy” after the Covid-19 pandemic, “but to witness a rift between countries with and against China, with and against the United States”. And, he continues, “if the Chinese question were to become central in the G20 in Rome, this would underline the centrality of the Chinese question for Italian politics, which so far has not been so skilled at managing it”. There is, he points out, “Italy’s difficulty in managing the Chinese question”. And, he concludes, “the errors of the past risk weighing heavily on the present and the future”.