What really irks the Americans and the West is that they are losing ground to a opponent that they view as inferior to them in every way.
They view China's political system as being regressive and archaic. They view China's academia with suspicion as they don't have "freedom of thought". And until recently they see the Chinese economy as filled with old smoke stack industries that belongs in the last century. They view China's human rights record as a anathema to everything they believe in and stand for. And with Xi Jinping centralizing power in recent years have simply further strengthen their negative views of China and confirm a lot of their biases and stereotype's of the CCP.
So the West sees themselves as both the intellectual and moral superiors to China.
If you have lost to a opponent that you acknowledge as your superior then you will accept that you were beaten by someone better than you and you will work harder to do better next time.
But if you are losing to someone you view as beneath you. Then you will start to look for other answers to your los. You will be convinced that the other guy cheated and played dirty because how else would they have been able to beat you.
Hints the endless accusations from the US and the West about China cheating, lying and stealing from them. They throw doubts about Chinese economic data and deride China's technological progress as either have been copied or been stolen from them. Because they believe that China can't progress or innovate on her own. They make fun of Chinese quality and workmenship. They accuse China of currency manipulation and using slave labor.
Because there must be a explanation why they are constantly losing to China on trade or the fact that China is muscling in on their marketshare for high tech products.
In this scenario there is very little to no introspection as to what went wrong for them. Instead its all the other guys fault.
That also explains why they are so desperate to see China fail as every misfortune that China has to deal with over the years is being seen as the end or the beginning of the end for China's ascendency.
And therefor going forward as the US and the West continues to struggle domestically and continues to lose influence internationally you will see that their rhetoric and actions towards China will become ever more shrilled and unhinged.
Very dangerous times ahead!
1. I agree completely with your post!
2. I agree so much, I am going to repeat myself that I agree completely!
3. The point for China here, is two words, which is, "Who cares?"
4. In the end, they either gotta put up or shut up.
5. In a strange twist of circumstance in our times, with the rise of China, the west neither puts up or shuts up. They continue babbling all along - but for what ends?
6. One example is the hypersonic weapon. China has them deployed, while the west talks hysterically about them. What gives?!
7. I do not believe these times are as dangerous as the Western media makes it out to be. What it looks like is a collapse. This is a crisis of confidence in the west. No matter how many meetings they have with like minded nations or how loud the echo chamber will bellow out the nonsense, the same problems remain, that can only be solved by hard work.
Hard work is the way forward, not empty rhetoric. At least China has that figured out.
That is the reason for forum like these, to see what China is like. That is interesting.
What the Western politician saying about China, not interesting at all, there is no follow through. Just more echo chamber treatment.