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https://theconversation.com/after-an-opaque-summit-china-and-the-us-want-to-work-together-again-that-might-not-be-good-news-for-the-world-282603>
"Back in 2005, US economist Fred Bergsten coined the term “Group of 2” or “G2”,
proposing a stronger partnership between what are now the world’s two largest
economies – the United States and China.
In the aftermath of the global financial crisis a few years later, economic
cooperation between these two countries briefly seemed to attest to the success
of efforts at integrating China into a liberal rules-based order.
To be sure, the ostensible G2 was not meant to replace the larger, formalised
G20 group of major economies, so much as strengthen it. Underpinning the
broader G20’s response to the global financial crisis, the US enacted an
initial US$787 billion fiscal stimulus, while China provided its own US$586
billion stimulus. This helped avert a much larger global economic catastrophe.
This week’s summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi
Jinping heralds a different sort of G2. On Friday, Trump claimed the countries
had struck some “fantastic trade deals”. But anyone hoping for details of such
deals – on tariffs, rare earths or Iran – was left disappointed on Friday
afternoon.
Whatever may have transpired, US–China cooperation no longer automatically
implies positive spillover effects for the rest of the world. Instead, in 2026,
the G2 appears, at best, to be a private bargain between two great powers,
imposing hidden costs on those outside, looking in.
The Trump administration has ushered in a noticeable shift in how the US views
its economic interests: no longer premised on shared liberal values, but on
spheres of influence among great powers. The key question, therefore, is not
whether the US and China can cooperate. It is what kind of order their
cooperation will produce."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
