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China brokers deal between Iran & Saudi Arabia | Quick Take | GZERO Media

​China brokers deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia

Ian Bremmer's Quick Take: Hello and good Monday morning to everybody. It's Ian Bremmer here, and a Quick Take to kick off your week. Want to talk about China and specifically this big announcement, a breakthrough diplomatic deal negotiated by Xi Jinping, between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Two countries with all sorts of problems between the two proxy wars and major security challenges. When they had the big demonstrations inside Iran against the government, they were blaming the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia for undermining and trying to overthrow the regime. And now instead, you have the Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers meeting together with the Chinese Foreign Minister and signing a trilateral agreement saying that they're going to open formal diplomatic relations within two months.

That's a big deal for a China that historically would have played no leadership role in any major negotiations outside of things that are of critical national security importance in Asia, in their backyard. And here we have Xi Jinping announcing a deal that the Americans, the Europeans, literally played no role in and couldn't play a role. The United States doesn't have diplomatic relations open with Iran. Should be welcomed by the world. It's better for everyone if these two major countries in the region are able to engage diplomatically with each other. But of course, it also shows a more significant footprint for Xi Jinping's China on the global stage. A country that right now has bad relations with the United States, no trust and increasingly heading in a confrontational direction.

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Ian interviews Mitt Romney: US political divisions & tough foreign policy calls | GZERO World

Ian interviews Mitt Romney: US political divisions & tough foreign policy calls

Note: This interview appeared as part of an episode of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, "Sen. Mitt Romney on DC dysfunction, Russian attacks, and banning TikTok" on February 6, 2023.

On GZERO World, Utah Senator Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential candidate sits down for an exclusive interview with Ian Bremmer to talk debt ceiling drama, Ukraine war fatigue, and pondering war with China. He also has thoughts on the "woke-ism" debate and whether the US should ban TikTok.

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Podcast: Mitt Romney on uncharted US waters, Russian malevolence, & China’s economic ambition


Listen: Utah Senator Mitt Romney speaks with Ian Bremmer about the biggest foreign policy challenges facing the US, as well as the latest in the Congressional debt ceiling drama. On the GZERO World podcast, Romney (who was mocked by Barack Obama in a 2012 presidential debate for saying that Russia was America’s top geopolitical threat) shares his views about the risk that Russia poses today and how to handle Ukraine's wish to join NATO.

Romney voices his concern that the US should not provoke China, and doesn't think that the current or former Speaker of the House should be visiting Taiwan. He also weighs in on the "woke-ism" debate and explains why he thinks the US should ban TikTok.

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Iván Duque: I Should Have Been More Forceful With US on Drugs | GZERO World

Iván Duque: I should have been more forceful with US on drugs

Iván Duque has few regrets from his time as Colombia's president. But if he could go back and do better on one thing, perhaps he should have been more vocal on the War on Drugs.

For Duque, there's too much focus on the supply side of the problem — Colombian cocaine — and too little attention on the demand side: Americans hungry for the drug.

In a GZERO World interview, Duque tells Ian Bremmer that he brought this up with both Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Maybe, he adds, he should have said it more and raised his voice.

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Donald Trump announces that he will once again run for US president in 2024 during an event at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

The world watches Trump

Americans were watching as Donald Trump announced his presidential candidacy on Tuesday night, but Trump’s entry into the race also grabbed the attention of political leaders around the globe.

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Georgia Senate candidates: U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock (D) and Herschel Walker (R)

Reuters

What We’re Watching: US midterm cliffhanger, Russia’s Kherson retreat, ASEAN summit kickoff

Control of Congress hangs in the balance

“It was a good day for democracy and I think a good day for America,” President Joe Biden said Wednesday night about the midterm election results. The US House and Senate both remain in play after Republicans failed to deliver on their promise of giving Democrats a shellacking. While the GOP is still favored to take control of the lower chamber, incoming House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is likely to preside over a slim and dysfunctional GOP majority – hardly the wave he had anticipated. The GOP is still 11 seats short of clinching a majority in the House, and several competitive districts are still being counted. Control of the Senate, meanwhile, rests on three states – Nevada, Arizona, and Georgia – that remain too close to call. The race in the Peach State between Democrat Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker will go to a run-off on Dec. 6 after neither reaped 50% of the vote. What’s more, measures to enshrine abortion rights were overwhelmingly backed by voters in states including Michigan, California, and Vermont. Even deep-red Kentucky refused to back an amendment denying the constitutional right to abortion, proving that curtailing abortion access is a losing issue for the GOP.

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US House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) waves after speaking to supporters on midterms election night.

REUTERS/Tom Brenner

What We’re Watching: Domestic & foreign policy implications, lame-duck maneuvers, Trump 2.0?, a Lake of doubts

Probe payback incoming?

After being on the unhappy side of a raft of Democrat-led House investigations the last few years, incoming GOP House leaders are itching to launch a number of their own. Subjects may include the Biden administration’s clunky withdrawal from Afghanistan, the origins of the COVID-19 virus, the alleged politicization of the Justice Department, and of course, the GOP’s favorite target, Hunter Biden. What about impeachment? The Dems did it twice to Donald Trump. Could Republicans return the favor? Likely incoming House Speaker Kevin McCarthy says the GOP would never pursue it for “political purposes.”

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A Republican Led House Will be Tougher On US-China Relations | World In :60 | GZERO Media

US midterms have major global implications

Ian Bremmer shares his insights on global politics this week on World In :60.

Do the US midterms matter to the rest of the world?

Usually, no. This time around, absolutely, yes. In part because of China. A Republican-led House is going to be a lot tougher on US-China relations, export controls, Taiwan trips, capital controls, you name it, capital restrictions. And I suspect that Biden is not going to want to be outdone by the Republicans on this issue. So it will mean a hardening there. But also, just the fact that the US is going to be seen as so much more politically dysfunctional, efforts of investigations and impeachments and the rest against Biden. The administration and the fact that Biden has portrayed this as a loss of democracy makes it harder for the Americans to be consistent and coherent with allies around the world. It doesn't stop US leadership on issues like Russia-Ukraine, but it does actually matter.

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