Clash of the Superpowers: America vs China delivers the inside story of how, since Donald Trump's first term as President, America and China have become locked in a battle for global power and influence.
Drawing on candid first-hand accounts from key insiders, the documentary looks at the policies, personalities, power plays, and pivotal moments that have shaped one of the most consequential geopolitical rivalries of our time.
Donald Trump comes to office in 2017 and upends America's relationship with Beijing. Top insiders describe what happened when the US president set out to deliver on his promise to ‘make China pay.'Chinese President Xi Jinping rebrands his communist country as a defender of global free trade and cultivates ties with the rest of the world. He also tries to court the new US president but is unable to stop Trump from embarking on a trade war.Interviewees include US national security advisers HR McMaster and John Bolton, speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, British chancellor of the exchequer Philip Hammond, and Chinese experts in foreign policy Lanxin Xiang and Wang Huiyao.
Taiwan becomes a dangerous flashpoint as the battle for supremacy ramps up. Trump's first term ends with relations with China at their lowest point for years as both countries deal with the devastating consequences of the Covid pandemic – or, as Trump called it, ‘the China plague.'Xi's government have high hopes for Trump's successor, Joe Biden, but these are dashed after a frosty meeting in Alaska. Biden sparks further anger in Beijing when he signs a nuclear submarine deal with Australia and the UK, and takes on China over tech – before speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan brings the two superpowers closer than ever to military confrontation. Tensions remain high as Donald Trump takes over for his second term, throwing world politics into disarray.Top interviewees include US national security adviser Jake Sullivan, speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, UK prime minister Boris Johnson, Australian prime minister Scott Morrison and Taiwan's foreign minister David Lee, as well as top Chinese academics who give the inside track from Beijing.