, Columnist
Four Flashpoints in the China-U.S. Cold War
Germany, the Philippines, India and tiny Djibouti provide critical mass in the rivalry between Washington and Beijing.
Is the whole world behind him?
Photographer: Christian Hartmann/AFP/Getty Images
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First in a five-part series on countries at the center of the U.S.-China rivalry. Read part two here, part three here, part four here and part five here.
Great-power competitions have the feel of one-on-one duels: Athens vs. Sparta, Rome vs. Carthage, Moscow vs. Washington. Yet they are also struggles for the loyalties of those caught between the contenders, which means that the choices of lesser states can determine the fate of superpowers.