While Trump Rattles the World, China Basks in the Limelight
Russian and Indian leaders to meet Xi as Trump courts Putin and alienates Modi
By Yaroslav Trofimov, The Wall Street Journal, 8/30/2025
The leaders of three of the world’s four most powerful nations will meet in China this weekend to discuss how to react to the upending of the international order wrought by the fourth: the U.S. under President Trump.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping is set to welcome Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is currently being wooed by Washington, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose country—long cultivated by the U.S. as a centerpiece of its aspirations to contain Beijing—has just been slapped by punitive American tariffs.
They will be joined by several other national leaders, including those from Turkey, Indonesia and Pakistan, at a summit in the Chinese city of Tianjin that starts Sunday and aims to showcase Beijing’s global economic and political clout.
Putin and some of these guests will then stand alongside Xi, North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un, and the presidents from countries as far afield as Cuba and Zimbabwe, to watch the Sept. 3 military parade in Beijing. The event will celebrate the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Japan in World War II—or, as China calls it, the Victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance…. [end quote]
China has considered itself the “Middle Kingdom” during its 5,000 year history. China has gained, lost and regained “the Mandate of Heaven” many times.
Xi has clearly decided that China has regained the Mandate of Heaven and is patiently constructing its central place as the pinnacle of culture and power. Putin is trying to reconstruct Russia’s imperial past but he’s peripheral to China as Russia has always been.
I think it’s extremely foolish to set up a hostile dynamic between the U.S. and China. Yes, we can be competitors but it’s dangerous and counterproductive to treat China as an enemy. Considering our dependence on China’s manufactured goods it’s cutting off our nose to spite our face.
I don’t think we should go to war with China over protecting Taiwan. First, we would lose. Second, China does not intend to take over all of southeast Asia the way the Japanese did. They have never been imperialistic that way – they only want trade and recognition of supremacy.
If you haven’t already read “The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000,” by Paul Kennedy I recommend it. It’s clear that China is working to displace the U.S. as the pre-eminent Great Power in the 21st century as the U.S. displaced the U.K. in the 20th century.
We could maintain a bi-polar Great Power system (U.S. + Europe + Japan + South Korea, China + India + Russia + North Korea + Africa) if we manage the situation wisely. China is patient in assembling its allies. The Trump administration is working as hard as possible to disrupt our alliances.
Wendy