The US 'Tries to Avoid Debacle in Its 'Economic War' With China

Commenting on the recent statement of White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon that the US is "at economic war" with China and Beijing is "crushing" it, Russian political analysts told Sputnik that this means that Washington has faced a serious challenge to its political and economic leadership.

"One of us is going to be a hegemon in 25 or 30 years and it’s gonna be them if we go down this path," Bannon said in a phone conversation with Robert Kuttner, co-founder and co-editor of The American Prospect magazine.

"Such a statement, which comes from such a high-ranking official, is worth a lot. It means that the US has faced a serious challenge to its leadership, both political and economic," Alexei Mukhin, General Director of the Center for Political Information told Sputnik China.

"Its political leadership is being rivaled by Russia and the economic – by China. The above statement should serve as a call to active duty not only for the Trump administration, but for the US allies," he added.

Alexei Mukhin also suggested that this remark of such a high-ranking official should also cause certain reaction of China, which, in turn, will define further relationship between the two countries.

The US, he said, is trying to consolidate its elites, the relationship between which is in deep crisis. Such a statement is also an attempt to mobilize certain influence groups around Donald Trump, who, being the president of the country, has not yet become the leader of the state.

Speaking about any possible reaction of China, the political analyst suggested that Beijing reacts very cautiously to any statements from the US.

"I don't think that the Chinese leadership will publicly voice its response. Most likely, China will follow its line and will regard Bannon's words as an encouragement and recognition of its efforts," Mukhin said.

Meanwhile, Alexander Lomanov, an expert at the Institute of the Far East in Moscow, noted to Sputnik that the US is concerned not about China getting richer but about its further inability to set its own rules of the game and the need to regard the opinion of other parties.

"The US is concerned that it would lose the monopoly for decision making and imposition of its political strategy of solving regional and global crises, and that these mechanisms will become collective," he told Sputnik.

These are the reasons, he said, why the US was forced to publicly admit that it is at economic war with China and foresees a soon debacle in it, he added.