Can relations with China be saved?

ESCALATION IN TENSIONS INTENSIFIES

3 CARRIER GROUPS ON WAY TO CHINA SEA

Tensions with China seem to be increasing by the day. Today China demanded the closing of the U.S. consulate in Guangzhou. This is in response to the U.S. demanding China close their consulate in Houston. The U.S. has claimed that China has used this consulate as a base for industrial and military espionage. China has so far refused to leave the consulate.

It was also announced that the U.K. is sending a carrier group to the south China sea and that the U.S. has 2 carrier groups either there or on the way. This is response to daily exercises by China around the island nation of Taiwan, that China has demanded be incorporated into mainland China. There has also been increased arm shipments to Taiwan by the United States and other western allies.

While there were some tensions with China over trade negotiations that were conducted to bring China into an equal status with other western nations. There has also been demands made by many nations that China stop the theft of intellectual property. It seems that China has finally realized it is not going to be able to continue with their one sided trade and and intellectual property policies.

Much has changed since the spread of the Covid-19 virus which originated in China and it seems that China knowingly allowed travel by infected people to western countries. This coupled with China's breaking of agreements on a independent Hong Kong that were to continue until 2035. The appearance is that China has realized that they are now under increased scrutiny and may have decided they no longer need to keep up the appearance of a country restrained by western standards of behavior. Hopefully that is not the case in reality.

Does China now perceive that they are now at their greatest point of opportunity and that their window of opportunity will decline from here? Is the leader of China under intense internal pressure not to give up any of the advantages it has enjoyed?

There will need to be an intense increase in diplomacy if this crisis is to be deescalated. Any attempt to take control of Taiwan by force will place the world in a dangerous place not seen since the Cuban Missile Crisis.