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Graphic Truth: China Since Tiananmen

By cracking down on the Tiananmen Square protesters 30 years ago, China's leadership bet that the country could successfully marry strict one-party rule with economic liberalization. That gamble appears to have paid off – in the years since, China has gone from bit player to driving force in the global economy, while lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. Here's a look at China's economy then and now.

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Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa receives Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the People's Palace in Damascus, Syria, on April 5, 2026.
Photo by Rami Alsayed/NurPhoto

It’s hard to think of two world leaders with more unlikely life paths than Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, a former comedian who played a president on TV only to become the actual president of a country under assault from a nuclear superpower, and Syrian leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, a former Al-Qaeda jihadist who toppled the Assad regime and now jet-sets to Western capitals, shoots hoops with US generals, and spits game at prime time news hosts.

Top defense budgets globally compared the US
Natalie Johnson

China has boosted its defense spending 13-fold over the past three decades, modernizing its weapons and military into a force capable of operating beyond its borders.