Will China determine the fate of the world?

Will China Determine the Fate of the World? | GZERO World

Who's the most powerful person on the planet right now? Xi Jinping, who just got a third term as boss of China's ruling Communist Party and got all his loyalists appointed to the CCP's top decision-making body. But having so much power comes with big tradeoffs.

Zero-COVID is saving Chinese lives, yet killing the Chinese economy. And Xi is feeling the heat from his increasingly muscular foreign policy.

On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer speaks to Antoine van Agtmael, the investor who coined the term "emerging markets" and knows a thing or two about China. He believes China is now the second largest economy in the world and soon to surpass the largest, the United States.

For van Agtmael, that means a world that'll be "less nice" because the forces of globalization will be weaker. China will lead one power bloc and the US the other.

So, how much will the future of China determine the future of the world?

This interview was featured in a GZERO World episode: Chinese power

More from GZERO Media

US President Donald Trump pardons a turkey at the annual White House Thanksgiving Turkey Pardon in the Rose Garden in Washington, D.C., USA, on Nov. 25, 2025.
Andrew Leyden/NurPhoto

Although not all of our global readers celebrate Thanksgiving, it’s still good to remind ourselves that while the world offers plenty of fodder for doomscrolling and despair, there are still lots of things to be grateful for too.

Marine Le Pen, French member of parliament and parliamentary leader of the far-right National Rally (Rassemblement National - RN) party and Jordan Bardella, president of the French far-right National Rally (Rassemblement National - RN) party and member of the European Parliament, gesture during an RN political rally in Bordeaux, France, September 14, 2025.
REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

Army Chief Asim Munir holds a microphone during his visit at the Tilla Field Firing Ranges (TFFR) to witness the Exercise Hammer Strike, a high-intensity field training exercise conducted by the Pakistan Army's Mangla Strike Corps, in Mangla, Pakistan, on May 1, 2025.

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR)/Handout via REUTERS

Field Marshal Asim Munir, the country’s de facto leader, consolidated his power after the National Assembly rammed through a controversial constitutional amendment this month that grants him lifelong immunity from any legal prosecution.