For a long time, historians dismissed the idea of a Cold War between the U.S. and China. But relations between the powers are growing increasingly distrustful, laying the foundation for a confrontation with the same characteristics — and dangers. As the two superpowers jockey over cyberspace and outer space, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, there is the risk of small disputes escalating into military conflict. No matter the outcome of this year’s U.S. presidential election, the coronavirus pandemic has turned existing fissures into chasms that could be difficult to overcome, our correspondents write. Quotable: U.S. policy toward China is “fraught with emotions and whims and McCarthyist bigotry,” China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, said.

Source: New York Times July 15, 2020 04:40 UTC