China’s Xi Redraws Geopolitical Map

“President Xi Jinping used a mix of bonhomie and economic allure this week to send Donald Trump a clear message: Beijing has too much global clout to be dictated by the US,” Bloomberg reports.

“Cameras captured the Chinese leader in a rare, unscripted huddle on Monday with Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi — his most powerful partners in resisting America on the world stage — at a summit in the Chinese port city of Tianjin. At one point, Xi held hands with his Indian counterpart, as the three men laughed casually, a striking scene given just months earlier New Delhi and Beijing were seen as rivals.”

“The images were a victory for Xi’s political project to build an alternative to the US-led world order, in which America’s dollar dominance has given it global sway.”