Any proposition starting with the phrase "the irony is that..." is likely to be an atrocity against the concept of irony. Irony is a property of communication, not of situations. Irony is the rhetorical quality of communicating multiple messages to multiple audiences. Irony is not "coincidence", so it would not apply to a "USA did X and China did X" situation.
However, in this case, what China is doing doesn't matter. The public communications of USA elites are heard by multiple audiences. Their subjects are meant to understand "China is dangerous; the world is dangerous; fear everything; don't question the military-industrial complex; don't question the popular news media; we should always be at war." Their fellow elites in China are meant to understand "Representative government is a sham; we are not constrained by our subjects; if we want to deprive our subjects of access to your products we will; also fuck you."
Both audiences are getting those messages loud and clear. Isn't it ironic?
Any proposition starting with the phrase "the irony is that..." is likely to be an atrocity against the concept of irony. Irony is a property of communication, not of situations. Irony is the rhetorical quality of communicating multiple messages to multiple audiences. Irony is not "coincidence", so it would not apply to a "USA did X and China did X" situation.
However, in this case, what China is doing doesn't matter. The public communications of USA elites are heard by multiple audiences. Their subjects are meant to understand "China is dangerous; the world is dangerous; fear everything; don't question the military-industrial complex; don't question the popular news media; we should always be at war." Their fellow elites in China are meant to understand "Representative government is a sham; we are not constrained by our subjects; if we want to deprive our subjects of access to your products we will; also fuck you."
Both audiences are getting those messages loud and clear. Isn't it ironic?