Donald Trump will be in China almost a year to the day since he was elected US president, but who is the most powerful man in the world? Is it Mr Trump or Xi Jinping, his Chinese counterpart?
The question is posed at a particularly difficult time for this White House. Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating alleged Russian meddling in the US election has issued his first indictments and three of Mr Trump's former campaign aides have been charged. Mr Trump and the Republicans now face a midterm election year with the Russia affair hanging over everything like a pall. And the US president may find it harder to concentrate on governing with the Russia investigation potentially threatening some of his associates. There is also the question of moral authority, something American presidents have routinely claimed for themselves especially in relation to the leaders of China and Russia. An active independent investigation into alleged "conspiracy against the United States" – one of the indictments filed against Trump aides – tests the presumption of moral authority.
But even if the US had a different president, the question of global pre-eminence would still arise. China has the world’s largest manufacturing output, as well as a larger GDP and four times the population of the United States. But the US has the most nuclear weapons, the largest military and has been the world’s sole hyperpower since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Negative political theology may be a better way to see the evolving world order. When Mr Trump meets Mr Xi, neither is the world's most powerful man, because neither the US nor China bestrides the world now. Consider the jockeying between the two countries in diverse fields in just the past few days. From Tennessee in the United States, came news that the world's fastest and most powerful supercomputer will be operational next year. It would supersede the Chinese machine that currently holds that rank. And in Azerbaijan, a new railway line linking Baku, Tbilisi, and the Turkish city of Kars opened for business on Monday. It is a key part of China's Belt and Road Initiative of trade corridors to link it to Europe.
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Negatives define both China and the US. Much of China's strength and stability rests on what it is not. China is neither a free political society nor a multi-party state. The recently ended 19th Congress of China's Communist Party elevated Mr Xi's authority beyond anything possible for an American president and did away with the restraint of collective leadership instituted after Mao Zedong's excesses. Yun Sun, a researcher on Chinese foreign policy and US-China relations at the Stimson Center, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank, recently pointed out that in the past five years of Mr Xi's leadership, China's ruling party has shrouded decision-making in even greater secrecy. It has also introduced a new disciplinary term ("improper comments") for questions about central government policy.
In the US, by contrast, the executive's lack of complete control over the other branches of government makes the system strong and worthy of emulation in other parts of the world. But it also paradoxically renders the American system weaker than that of China. Unlike his Chinese counterpart, Mr Trump cannot simply pronounce from on high and be absolutely certain his orders will stand firm against a challenge in the courts or a congressional slapdown. Mr Trump's repeatedly stymied attempts to institute a somewhat idiosyncratic ban on the entry of certain foreign nationals to the United States is a case in point. So too Monday's ruling by a federal judge in Washington, blocking Mr Trump's attempt to prohibit a specific section of Americans from serving in the military.
Clearly, Mr Xi’s position carries more absolute power than that of Mr Trump but it is not a given that this strength will translate into the unchallenged worldwide status enjoyed by the US for decades.
That said, there are fears that healthy and natural jostling between the US and China may create conditions for the so-called Thucydides trap. This is the situation first identified by the ancient Greek historian Thucydides who explained that tensions between a rising power and a ruling power – Athens versus Sparta – inevitably result in war.
In his new book Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides's Trap? Harvard professor Graham Allison lays out the likely triggers for conflict. An impasse over North Korea, along with further testing of inter-continental ballistic missiles by its leader Kim Jong-un could be a flashpoint.
But perhaps the best chance of avoiding war is the negative political theology that defines our times. With both the rising power and the ruling power hamstrung by the particularities of their own systems, there is a stalemate of sorts. Their competition is bound by what John F Kennedy called "precarious rules of the status quo."
That is as good as it gets, all things considered.
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Should you buy or rent a home in the UAE?
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
How to tell if your child is being bullied at school
Sudden change in behaviour or displays higher levels of stress or anxiety
Shows signs of depression or isolation
Ability to sleep well diminishes
Academic performance begins to deteriorate
Changes in eating habits
Struggles to concentrate
Refuses to go to school
Behaviour changes and is aggressive towards siblings
Begins to use language they do not normally use
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
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Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
FROM%20THE%20ASHES
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More on Quran memorisation:
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Company%20profile
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UAE%20v%20West%20Indies
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Glossary of a stock market revolution
Reddit
A discussion website
Redditor
The users of Reddit
Robinhood
A smartphone app for buying and selling shares
Short seller
Selling a stock today in the belief its price will fall in the future
Short squeeze
Traders forced to buy a stock they are shorting
Naked short
An illegal practice
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
States of Passion by Nihad Sirees,
Pushkin Press
