China’s push for a new world order

In his latest Quick Take, Ian Bremmer reflects on America’s role on the global stage.

“The United States is becoming less predictable, less reliable, at least in the eyes of non-American leaders,” he explains. That uncertainty has left countries hedging their bets, with China seizing the opportunity to present itself as the more stable long-term partner.

But Ian notes the limits: “These countries are not particularly aligned,” he says of members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, noting deep divides between China and India. Yet, US tariffs and unilateral policies are pushing even rivals to find common cause.

Reliability, Ian warns, matters more than unpredictability: “When countries around the world see that the United States is not a country they can rely on, they will make plans with those actors they feel they can.” And that, he says, “redounds to China’s benefit.”