From Taiwan to TikTok: Who blinks first in US-China showdown?

The Debate

Is it a spiraling superpower showdown or a glorified trade negotiation? The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is kicking off a three-day visit in China’s economic capital, Shanghai. Unlike during the Cold War, when exchanges between the blocs were anecdotal, today it's the world's two biggest powers at the table – powers whose biggest trading partners happen to be each other.

When Washington and Beijing face off over China flooding world markets with subsidised solar panels and electric car batteries, it certainly sounds like bartering over big bucks. But there's also competing political models at stake.

Blinken's visit comes hours after the US Senate overwhelmingly approved legislation to possibly force the sale of TikTok by China. The addictive video-sharing site's business model – like that of its competitors – relies on vacuuming up its users' personal habits, beliefs and tastes. Beyond the more conventional standoff over fresh military aid to semiconductor-producing Taiwan, how to define this battle over who controls the digital age? How far should the West go?

Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Rebecca Gnignati and Juliette Brown.