The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has impacted the global supply chain, especially the transport of food grains. This has helped drive the consequent rise in inflation and cost of living, particularly in western Europe.

On the one hand, this conflict has given new life to NATO, made it active, and strengthened bonds between Europe and America. On the other hand, it has strengthened strategic economic, political, and geopolitical collaborations between Russia and China.

The main losers in this conflict are the Ukrainian and European people. However, the ammunition and war-equipment manufacturing industries are the prime beneficiaries.

The world was busy understanding the causes and outcome of the Ukraine conflict when the war drums started beating around the island of Taiwan. Before the Ukraine conflict, China and the U.S. were contesting the South China Sea.

There have been claims and counterclaims by China, regional countries, and America on the South China Sea, its natural resources (hydrocarbon), control of a crucial trade route, and the ownership of its islands.

In such a scenario, Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of America's House of Representatives, announced her plan to visit Taiwan. Before the Pelosi trip, China said that its army "will not sit idly by" if she were to visit Taiwan.

This was not the first time a high-profile American official has visited Taiwan. After Pelosi left, China fired missiles over the island and carried out live-fire drills that encircled it as if it were rehearsing for a blockade or unification.

Beijing called Pelosi's trip a "dangerous, reckless, and irresponsible provocation" by America against China. It said the ongoing military drills demonstrate its resolve to uphold its "sovereignty and territorial integrity".

Xinhua, China news agency, reported on August 12 that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee, chaired by Xi Jinping, had affirmed the basic policy of upholding "one country, two systems" and promoting national reunification.

It is not clear yet what Pelosi real purpose was for the visit. Was it to show American support to the Taiwan government? Or was it a well-thought plot to provoke China and create a situation that could engage China in a war with Taiwan? The China-Taiwan conflict could potentially result in a long-term military engagement of China, which could dent Chinese growth, negatively impact China's global political and economic spread, and ultimately weaken it.

Some say that Pelosi's Taiwan visit is an example of a lack of coordination with President Joe Biden. When asked about Pelosi's plans, Biden cited military officials who thought the trip was "not a good idea right now."

America has long held a "strategic ambiguity" position under which past presidents purposely avoided definite commitments regarding Taiwan. However, Biden has vowed more than once to defend Taiwan from invasion, disregarding the position of "strategic ambiguity".

Before unearthing the real cause of the America-China conflict, let us take a cursory look at the history of America-China relations. America supported China against Japan in the Pacific War of 1941 to 1945. The Chinese leadership fled to Taiwan in 1949 following the victory of the Chinese revolution under Chairman Mao Zedong's leadership.

Washington kept on recognizing the exiled regime as China's legitimate government. America did not let the People's Republic of China become a member of the United Nations.

A shift in America's policy on China took place in 1972 after then U.S. president Richard Nixon visited China. Many consider that in ordere to isolate the Soviets, America accepted the People's Republic of China (PRC) and its one-China policy.

America downgraded its Taiwan relations to a merely informal arrangement while affirming a peaceful settlement to the mainland China's claim that this was a breakaway province that had to be united.

This shift resulted in ending the 1940 trade embargo on China. After the death of Mao and the subsequent takeover by Deng Xiaoping, in 1980, economic ties grew between America and China. America and Western multinational corporations/companies outsourced to Chinese firms or set up their own manufacturing units in China. They benefited from cheaper production, yielding super profits.

The Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) advances on the capitalist road made the Chinese people a primary target consumer market for U.S. firms such as Apple and General Motors.

The World Bank data shows that China and America captured more than half the growth in GDP across the world from 1980 to 2020. The American GDP grew nearly five times from US$4.4 trillion to US$20.9 trillion in today's money, while China's grew from US$310 billion to US$14.7 trillion.

One wonders why America and China are confronting each other when their economic cooperation has resulted in mutual prosperity. What went wrong?

Is it only a Taiwan issue inn which America is bound to support and protect democracy from the Chinese authoritarian rule? Is it a fight for the hegemony of the South China Sea and capture and control of the world's giant producer of computer chips?

Does America feels threatened by Chinese technology, state-of-the-art military equipment, and, most notably, China's growing economic influence through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)? Through BRI, China has been able to acquire three important ports on long-term leases located at essential trade routes, i.e., Gwadar (Pakistan), Hambantota (Sri Lanka), and Djibouti (Horn of Africa).

History tells that controlling trade roots is the first step toward Imperial status, other than military might and robust economics. Possibly, America feels threatened by China's economic growth and its geopolitical spread.

Seemingly, the above description does not provide a holistic point of view on the nature of the America-China conflict. Let us dig a bit deeper.

The study of history tells us that many conflicts arise during the development and existence of things. Essentially, the principal conflict—its existence and development—determines or influences the other conflicts' existence and development. Only one main conflict plays the leading role at every stage in the development of a process.  

To understand the nature of the main conflict, one needs to study history since 1917. At that point, the world was divided between two ideologies: capitalism and socialism. That division constituted the "main conflict" in those times. 

After the fall of socialism in the USSR and China, the nature of the main conflict changed. Russia and China started following the capitalist road. 

Now, the main conflict is between forms of capitalism, i.e., liberal capitalism (America and the West) and state-controlled capitalism (Russia and China). The contending powers (Russia-China versus America and Europe) are not struggling over ideology but are working to capture the market economy's significant share. The issue of Taiwan could be understood in this context.