China’s Counterpunch: Decoding Beijing’s Rising Assertiveness
US President Donald Trump on the roof of his Oval Office on Tuesday! (Image The White House)
How China recalibrated its foreign policy in response to US pressure, forging stronger ties with Russia and the Global South and weaponising leverage
By TRH Global Affairs Desk
NEW DELHI, August 6, 2025 — In a revealing conversation hosted by GZERO Media, geopolitical analysts Ian Bremmer and Fareed Zakaria delved into China’s increasingly bold global strategy, noting a significant shift in Beijing’s approach to US pressure and international diplomacy.
“China seems a lot more powerful now than it did five or ten years ago in its ability and willingness to hit the Americans back,” Zakaria observed, setting the stage for a deep analysis of China’s evolution under President Xi Jinping.
Bremmer concurred, highlighting that Beijing, while once receiving international pushback for its aggressive “wolf warrior diplomacy,” has since adapted. “They’ve hit their stride a little bit better in international relations,” said Zakaria. Following early missteps and global criticism—especially from India, Australia, and Vietnam—China has recalibrated its assertiveness with more strategic intent, noted Zakaria.
According to the discussion, China’s response to mounting US trade restrictions, particularly under US President Donald Trump in his first term and continued by Joe Biden, has been multi-pronged. “It included tightening its alliance with Russia, severing dependence on American supply chains, and intensifying engagement with Africa and the Global South,” noted Zakaria.
“One of their goals now is to build better relations with Europe and potentially divide the Western alliance,” Zakaria noted on China’s bid to diversify, while cautioning that a “marriage” between China and Europe remains unlikely.
China’s dominance in critical minerals and technologies—especially in electric vehicles, solar, wind, and nuclear—has become a central weapon in this new phase of geopolitical competition. “They’ve got dominant technology in areas the West has underinvested in for decades,” explained Zakaria.
The conversation also touched on how Trump’s disruption of global norms, including de facto embargoes on Chinese goods, has pushed Beijing toward a more aggressive retaliatory posture. “The feeling in Beijing now is: if disruption is inevitable, we might as well hit back,” Zakaria summarized.
Still, both analysts emphasized that while China remains integrated into the global economic system—unlike “Russia’s rogue” approach—it is increasingly willing to use its leverage, even at the cost of lower growth or global friction.
The dialogue concluded with a reflection on the West’s policy response. “We can’t be solely dependent on China,” Bremmer noted, advocating for greater industrial and supply chain cooperation with close allies like Canada, Mexico, and the EU—rather than pushing for full domestic production.
As global geopolitics enter a more volatile phase, the discussion underscored a critical lesson: China is no longer just rising—it is recalibrating, and ready to push back.
Irony of Trump talking with China for a trade deal with 90-day pause on tariffs while threatening India was underscored by Republican Nikki Halley in a post on X. “India should not be buying oil from Russia. But China, an adversary and the number one buyer of Russian and Iranian oil, got a 90-day tariff pause. Don’t give China a pass and burn a relationship with a strong ally like India,” she noted.
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