If the United States does not immediately realize the magnitude of this challenge and fails to unite the democratic world, “determined tyrants might, this time, be right”.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping is carving out a new global order with increasing confidence. He is fully capitalizing on the weakening of American positions, the war of attrition waged by Russia against Ukraine, and the strategic partnership he maintains with the Kremlin dictator, Vladimir Putin.
This is the harsh conclusion drawn by Hal Brands, Bloomberg commentator and professor at Johns Hopkins University. The analyst warns that the world is entering a period of dangerous instability, in which Beijing is taking firm steps to become the main geopolitical power center of the planet.
Ukraine in the game of dictators: Beijing’s chess moves between Trump and Putin
The two recent meetings in Beijing — Xi Jinping’s discussions with American President Donald Trump and, separately, his meeting with Vladimir Putin — highlight a profound shift in the global balance of power. Xi Jinping has begun to promote Beijing’s interests much more aggressively in relation to the West, whether we’re talking about the trade war with the USA, the sensitive issue of Taiwan, or the expansion of Chinese influence on other continents.
Nevertheless, Russia remains China’s true strategic partner. Due to the isolation caused by the war in Ukraine, Moscow has become politically and economically dependent on Beijing. The Kremlin is desperately seeking to advance major energy projects, such as the “Siberia Force-2” gas pipeline, while Putin hopes that Xi will stop Chinese exports of drone components to Ukraine.
The two authoritarian regimes act in coordination to undermine the influence of the USA. Not coincidentally, during one of the meetings with Putin, Xi Jinping uttered that phrase that has already become famous: the world is going through “changes that have not been seen in the last hundred years”. For Beijing, diplomatic dialogue with Washington is just a tactical move – a necessary respite to strengthen its economy, accumulate strategic resources, and dodge American pressures in the technology and security sector.
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