China is the one country with the dynamism and heft to revitalise the global economy – but doing so would require a major U-turn on its virus suppression policy.
To become the world’s largest economy, India needs to unleash the animal spirits of the 1.3 billion Indian people by exposing them to global competition, writes Kishore Mahbubani.
An isolated Myanmar and divided Asean are not good for Beijing. The wisest thing Joe Biden can do is show that American diplomacy can once again succeed in Asia.
As a nation not viewed as a threat, India is well-placed to champion an ethical, rules-based order at a time the US, EU and China are unable to step up, says Kishore Mahbubani.
Chinese competition has exploded the ‘End of History’ myth, while Asia’s handling of Covid-19 shows ‘good government’ is not an oxymoron, writes Kishore Mahbubani.
The Covid-19 pandemic is occurring at a time when global organisations, including the WHO, are weakened, making it imperative for world powers to step up.
The world order has not kept pace with the shifting economic dynamics. The US and EU retain control of the IMF and World Bank despite Asia’s economic might, and the US dollar remains predominant despite Trump’s weaponisation of it.
While Italy has attracted criticism within Europe for joining China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s trip to the continent underscores the transatlantic divide over how to deal with rising Asian powers.
More than one-third of the world's population lives in just three countries: China, India and Indonesia. With all three undergoing significant political transitions, this is a decisive moment in shaping the global economy's future.
The time has come to think the unthinkable: the era of American dominance in international affairs may well be coming to an end. As that moment approaches, the main question will be how well the US is prepared for it.
Long before anyone else, former US president Bill Clinton saw that America would have to prepare for the time when it would no longer be the No 1 power in the world. In his 2003 Yale University address on "Global Challenges", he said: "If you believe that maintaining power and control and absolute freedom of movement and sovereignty is important to your country's future, there's nothing inconsistent in [the US continuing to behaving unilaterally].