TOKYO -- Beijing's angry reaction to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan illustrates how the U.S. and China have now entered a long tunnel of confrontation that does not let either side back down.
But the current tension over Taiwan, the self-ruled democratic island viewed by mainland China as a breakaway province, is not the cause but a result of their intense rivalry. The two superpowers are competing to control the international order, and the struggle likely will last for 10 or 20 years.
