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Beijing —

The optics could not have been more stark as Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived at a massive military parade in Beijing flanked by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un – with some two dozen other leaders including from Iran, Pakistan, Belarus and Myanmar trailing behind.

Jumbotrons at Tiananmen Square beamed the image to the 50,000 people gathered under the beating Beijing sun to witness the spectacle, many waving small Chinese flags, while state media transmitted it to televisions across China and the world.

Many watching in capitals across the West, including Donald Trump, thought the messaging was clear: China is deliberately provoking the US and its partners.

“Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against The United States of America,” the US president wrote to Xi on social media as legions of troops goose-stepped their way through central Beijing.

For anyone who heard the echoing shouts of the thousands of well-drilled troops and saw the hulking nuclear-capable missiles, underwater drones and warplanes gliding down Beijing’s Avenue of Eternal Peace, there’s no question that Xi was orchestrating his most forceful showing yet of China as an alternative global leader – with both military might and geopolitical heft.

Planes perform a flyover during a military parade in Tiananmen Square on September 3. Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

China has long touted its “peaceful” rise and decried the “warmongering” US. But the parade, commemorating the end of World War II, was undoubtedly intended to telegraph the rapid advancement of the world’s largest military, and signal Xi’s growing ability to project hard power on the world stage.

A live mic that picked up Xi and Putin discussing how people may soon live to 150 through medical advances hinted at the durability both see for their own positions driving a global transition of power, as perhaps did Kim’s decision to bring his daughter and potential successor with him on his green train to Beijing.

Behind the carefully choreographed pomp was a key message – that Xi aims for a world where the US and the West don’t get to set the rules – and a question: what does that mean for the US and the world?

‘Peace or war’

For Xi, setting Kim and Putin by his side was a forceful way to underscore his belief that the existing international system led by the US is to blame for current conflict and confrontation, not the men seated around him.

“Only when all countries and nations treat each other as equals, coexist in peace and support each other” can they “uphold common security” and “eradicate the root cause of war,” Xi said during a speech carried by loudspeaker across the parade grounds on Wednesday.

That root cause is “Cold War mentality, bloc confrontation and bullying practices,” Xi and his officials have said time and again, using Beijing’s code to describe American foreign policy.

China’s President Xi Jinping (center), North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un (right) and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin arrive for a reception following a military parade on September 3. Jade Gao/AFP/Getty Images

Earlier in the week, in the port city of Tianjin, the Chinese leader closed a summit of regional leaders including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi by unveiling a “global governance initiative” – one pillar of Xi’s broader plan to reshape the way the international system is run and make it more “democratic.”

The plan, which supports the United Nations, could have broad reach, according to Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Affairs at Renmin University in Beijing. “Global governance is not just focused on (security) but also finance – SWIFT system, sanctions, trade, AI governance, ocean governance, climate change … and we need to make the Global South have more say and power (at the UN),” Wang said.

Observers say Xi’s initiative is meant to both stand as a rallying point for countries that feel squeezed by an international system they see as unfairly dominated by the West – and help China dilute US power across a range of areas, by sharing it across more China-friendly countries.

That could help Beijing shape an international system where national development trumps any concept of individual human rights and no US-led alliance can hem in China’s ambitions. It’s an arrangement that could well benefit China’s designs on the island democracy of Taiwan, which Beijing claims and has not ruled out taking by force.

The one-two punch of Xi’s summitry followed by his parade over the past week appeared carefully calibrated to send a message: while China builds out its influence and soft power, it’s also growing the hard power that could back it if needed.

And even as China emphasizes that its military is for defensive purposes, its show of strength on Wednesday has given analysts around the world a clear look at the extent of its offensive capabilities and its vast capacity to produce arms.

Members of the Chinese military hold flags during a military parade in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on September 3. Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images

The arsenal of missiles on show could enable China to strike targets across the world and evade advanced missile defenses with hypersonic technology; its vanguard of combat drones as well as laser weapons could also make it challenging for adversaries to block the advances of Chinese forces in the region in the event of an offensive.

And it was against a backdrop of this bristling display that Xi looked out into the crowds before him in Tiananmen Square and called on humanity to make a simple choice: “peace or war.”

‘Long-term rivalry’

There, Xi appeared to be referring to a choice of international system: China’s or the West’s.

And it’s a choice that he may now be more confident to ask countries to make, as Beijing watches Trump shake up America’s traditional role on the global stage by exiting international bodies, axing foreign aid, and roiling longstanding allies and partners with tariffs and other demands.

But it’s a statement that rings eerily for many observers when delivered alongside a show of military might attended by Putin, whose invasion of Ukraine sparked Europe’s bloodiest war since WWII, and Kim, who feeds him weapons and troops while building up his own illegal nuclear stockpile.

Chinese officials have long said China’s military is defensive, and took pains to describe their parade as commemorating China’s contributions to “safeguarding world peace.” Xi assured his spectators that China “remained committed to the path of peaceful development.”

But as Beijing hardens its ties with Russia, North Korea and other nations unfriendly to the West, the emergence of two camps and the contest between them appears clearer than ever.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un look out from Tiananmen Gate as they attend a military parade in Beijing on September 3. Yue Yuewei/Xinhua/AP

Dismissing those ties between these countries would be “naive and dangerous,” said Edward Howell, a lecturer in politics at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, who focuses on the Korean Peninsula.

Their “common opposition to the US” allows for future, greater possibilities for “exchange in trade, weapons, and knowhow… for the broader goal of undermining the US-led international order,” he added.

And even as Beijing hopes to see a world where US alliances are broken apart, its own aggression in the region – as it asserts its territorial claims in the South China Sea and toward Taiwan – is driving American allies in Asia closer to Washington.

Meanwhile, as China faces its own challenges at home, where the ruling Communist Party is grappling with a slowing economy and persistent unemployment, some observers wonder whether drumming up nationalism as a distraction strategy could push China into an even more aggressive stance.

The parade on Wednesday “serves not only to demonstrate power abroad but also to rally nationalism at home and strengthen public support in face of economic headwinds,” said Tong Zhao, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment of International Peace in the US. That helps Beijing in “shoring up internal stability to bolster China’s long-term rivalry with Washington,” he added.

And within the country, there are also those considering carefully where China’s military ambitions will lead.

Senior Col. (ret) Zhou Bo, a senior fellow at Tsinghua University’s Center for International Security and Strategy in Beijing, told CNN that he looked forward to China between now and 2049 becoming a so-called world-class military and still maintaining peace and continuing to rise.

“At that time, China’s aim is to be neck-to-neck with the US military. Then, of course, you have another dilemma: how can you prove that you have a world-class military without being combat tested?”

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Despite years of engagement in a global chip war, China remains a vital operation base for several Asian-grown champions. But even from afar, Washington still holds key levers of power.

The latest example: The US government’s revoking of authorization for Taiwanese and South Korean chip titans to freely send vital American technology-powered equipment to plants in China.

The change, which will go into effect next year, could hobble production, ultimately even threatening the plants’ survival.

The Biden-era exemption let chipmakers TSMC, SK Hynix and Samsung export critical production equipment to China. Cutting that exemption underscores how important the US is to the global chip supply chain – and to all the products those chips help power, from cars to phones to weapon systems.

That’s because, even though TSMC and Samsung are major chip manufacturing leaders, the US still holds commanding positions in chip design and related software, exemplified by Nvidia’s dominance in AI chips. The Taiwanese and South Korean companies also rely heavily on crucial chipmaking equipment from American companies like Applied Materials, Lam Research and KLA.

Washington’s move also highlights the tough balancing act these companies face as tensions between the world’s two largest economies intensify.

The Commerce Department said in a statement last week the policy change closed an export control “loophole.” The department added it intends to grant licenses to allow the firms to continue their operations in China but not to expand capacity or upgrade technology.

Analysts, however, worry if the licenses will be approved fast enough to avoid disrupting operations abroad.

Chipmaking is a precision business that requires constant adjustments, maintenance and updates to the vast array of machineries used to etch tens of billions of transistors – each 10,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair – onto a single microchip.

Sanjeev Rana, head of Korea research at brokerage firm CLSA, said applying for licenses for each of these steps is a “cumbersome” process. Delays could cause disruption, leading prices to surge for memory chips, the semiconductors that help devices store data that Samsung and SK Hynix make in China.

People walk past the logo of SK hynix during a semiconductor exhibition at the COEX convention and exhibition centre in Seoul on October 24, 2024. Jung Yeon Je/AFP/Getty Images

The two Korean firms are more vulnerable under the change, since they have a larger presence in China. Samsung’s facility in China accounts for 30% of its NAND chips, one of two kinds of memory chips that don’t require power to store data.

SK Hynix, meanwhile, makes around 37% of its NAND chips in China and 35% of its DRAM chips, which provide short-term storage, according to Bernstein, an equity research firm.

Together, Samsung and SK Hynix’s China plants contribute to 15% of the global NAND chips and 10% of DRAM chips, Bernstein data showed.

Even if the companies can secure licenses in time, the competitiveness of these facilities in China would decline significantly over time, Rana said.

“With the current setup, I think it will be difficult to continue producing memory chips in the longer term,” he said. “I think the US ultimately wants these companies to build memory fabs, or at least some capacity in the US,” he added, referring to fabrication plants.

This tightening of the screws from Washington contrasts with President Donald Trump’s apparent embrace of major American tech firms’ desire to ease curbs on China. In recent months, Trump has rolled back Biden-era limits on global access to AI chips and permitted some Nvidia chip sales to China.

The US has been stepping up efforts to curtail China’s technology gains since Trump’s first term. The Biden administration in 2022 imposed sweeping curbs on selling chips and chipmaking equipment to America’s strategic rival, though it exempted the three chip powerhouses’ China plants from the restrictions.

SK Hynix said in a statement that it will take necessary measures to minimize the impact of the current moves on its business as it maintains close communication with both Korean and American governments. Samsung declined to comment.

CNN has reached out to the Commerce Department’s office responsible for export controls for comment.

In comparison with SK Hynix and Samsung’s relatively high exposure, the loss of the authorization is expected to pose only limited impact to TSMC – the world’s largest contract chipmaker – which only makes a small number of its less advanced computing chips in China, experts said.

Although the Taiwanese chip titan has kicked off ambitious global expansion plans in the US, Japan and Germany, at least 80% of its production capacity will remain in Taiwan by 2030, according to TrendForce, a market research firm.

In a statement, TSMC said that it is evaluating the situation and taking appropriate measures, including communicating with the US government. “We remain fully committed to ensuring the uninterrupted operation of TSMC Nanjing,” it said.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement the US move could pose uncertainty for TSMC’s China operations. But given that the Nanjing facility only accounts for around 3% of the Taiwanese chipmaker’s total production capacity, it said the change will not affect the nation’s chip industry competitiveness.

TSMC plant in Nanjing, China on September 4, 2025. Costfoto/Sipa USA

An inadvertent boost to Chinese companies

Over the past decade, China has worked to build a self-reliant semiconductor supply chain, a nationwide push made more urgent by Washington’s tightening of tech restrictions since Trump’s first term.

In the memory chips sector, China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) and Yantze Memory Technologies (YMTC) have emerged as top contenders – at least in the country for now – in a market long dominated by Samsung, SK Hynix and America’s Micron.

But the White House’s move could instead boost these Chinese players, experts said, even as it would further curb China’s access to foreign-made semiconductors.

“While Samsung and SK Hynix still lead their Chinese competitors in market share, over time an inability to upgrade equipment at their Chinese fabs will force them to continue to cede market share as these facilities become less competitive,” said Troy Stangarone, a non-resident fellow at Carnegie Mellon Institute for Strategy and Technology.

Stangarone also warned of additional complications. In an unprecedented arrangement with Trump last month, Nvidia and AMD agreed to pay the US government 15% of their revenues from chip sales to China in exchange for export licenses.

“Samsung and SK Hynix cannot preclude the possibility that this move is an initial step to seeking a share of revenue in return for the issuance of licenses needed to continue or upgrade their operations in China,” he said.

For now, Beijing has voiced opposition, as it has with every US measure aimed at strengthening tech controls against China.

A Commerce Ministry spokesperson on Saturday called on the US to “correct its wrongdoing,” adding that Beijing would take necessary measures to safeguard the interests of its enterprises without further details.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is enjoying another moment in the international spotlight on his visit to China, using the occasion to showcase his partnership with a key military ally: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The massive military parade in Beijing Wednesday was Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s show, but Putin also met on the sidelines with Kim, who has sent both soldiers and ammunition to support Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Putin praised Pyongyang on Wednesday for sending troops, saying North Korean soldiers “fought courageously and heroically” on the front lines against Ukrainian forces.

After a two-and-a-half hour meeting with Kim following the parade, the two leaders shared a hug, and Putin was heard extending an invitation to his North Korean counterpart to visit Russia.

Kremlin

Western officials estimate around 4,000 North Korean troops have been killed or wounded fighting on Russia’s side from a contingent of around 12,000, deployed primarily to Russia’s Kursk border region to help repel a Ukrainian incursion.

The military alliance is now in the open after months of initial secrecy. Kim recently publicly mourned his country’s casualties and North Korea has released a propaganda video glorifying the soldiers fighting on Russia’s side.

It’s a not-so-subtle display of military resolve by Putin just weeks after meeting US President Donald Trump in Alaska to talk about a possible end to the war.

In remarks at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit meeting ahead of the parade, Putin seemed to indicate that he had not budged one inch from the position he held when he launched the February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, blaming the West for what he described as the root cause of the conflict: the 2014 Maidan revolution that ended with pro-Russian Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych fleeing the country after a violent crackdown.

And if Putin’s resolve to continue the war on Ukraine was in question, air raid sirens sounded in Kyiv and elsewhere in Ukraine as Russia rained more than 500 drones and two dozen cruise missiles overnight as the Kremlin leader attended the military parade in Beijing.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev arrive for a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two, in Beijing, China September 3, 2025. Sputnik/Alexander Kazakov/Pool via REUTERS Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab

BEIJING, Sept 3 (Reuters) – (This Sept 3 story has been corrected to withdraw videos, with no changes to text)

When Russian President Vladimir Putin walked shoulder to shoulder with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday, a hot mic caught them discussing organ transplants and the possibility that humans could live to 150 years old.

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The moment came as Putin and Xi walked with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un at the head of a delegation of more than two dozen foreign leaders to view a military parade in Beijing marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two.

The moment was carried on the livestream provided by state broadcaster CCTV to other media, including AP and Reuters. China’s radio and TV administration said CCTV’s coverage of the event was viewed 1.9 billion times online and by more than 400 million on TV.

As Putin and Xi walked toward the Tiananmen rostrum where they viewed the parade with Kim, Putin’s translator could be heard saying in Chinese: “Biotechnology is continuously developing.”

The translator added, after an inaudible passage: “Human organs can be continuously transplanted. The longer you live, the younger you become, and (you can) even achieve immortality.”

In response, Xi, who was off camera, can be heard responding in Chinese: “Some predict that in this century humans may live to 150 years old.”

Kim was smiling and looking in the direction of Putin and Xi, but it was not clear if the conversation was being translated for him. Putin cannot be heard speaking clearly in Russian in the CCTV clip.

Putin confirmed later that he and Xi had discussed the subject on Wednesday.

“I think when we went to the parade, the chairman talked about it,” Putin told reporters in Beijing when asked about the leaked conversation.

“Modern means of health improvement, medical means, even surgical ones related to organ replacement, they allow humanity to hope that active life will continue differently than it does today,” he said.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and CCTV did not immediately respond to requests from Reuters for comment.

As Xi began speaking, the video cut to a wide shot of Tiananmen Square and the audio faded.

Just over 30 seconds later, Xi, Putin and Kim reappeared on camera as they walked on the steps toward the viewing platform for the parade.

At the event, Xi told a crowd of more than 50,000 spectators the world faced a choice of “peace or war” as he inspected troops and cutting-edge military equipment, including hypersonic missiles and naval drones.

Putin arrived in China on Sunday to attend a summit organised by Beijing that convened more than 20 leaders of non-Western countries, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Putin and Xi signed more than 20 agreements on subjects ranging from energy to artificial intelligence, and agreed to build a major new gas pipeline, without announcing key details on financing or the pricing of the gas to be sent to China.

Reporting by Beijing newsroom Editing by Jon Boyle and Peter Graff

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When Elon Musk launched the “American Party” in July, it was less a political movement than a personal rupture – a very public break with US President Donald Trump, born of frustration with a leader who treated allies like enemies and diplomacy like a reality show.

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Musk, on his part, wanted to reboot America.

But halfway around the world, another kind of party seems to be taking shape this week in China. We may very well call it “Anti-American Party”. Though the jury is still out on whether we should credit Chinese President

or Trump as its real creator. But what’s clear is that the “Anti-American Party” is anti-American not just in name but in ambition. Xi Jinping’s version isn’t domestic, digital, or libertarian.

It’s global, authoritarian, and unmistakably anti-American.

On Live TV: Xi’s Savage ‘Zero Sum Outcome’ Warning To West In English I Military Day Parade Speech

During the Victory Day parade on Wednesday, Xi convened what looked less like a summit and more like a coronation. At his side stood Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Behind them, a wall of hypersonic missiles and goose-stepping soldiers. The stage was Tiananmen Square. The symbolism was deliberate.

As the Economist wrote in an article, for decades, Washington has been the default venue for world affairs.

The UN convenes in New York. Nato answers to Washington. The G7 takes its cues from the West. But as more than two dozen heads of state gathered in Tianjin and Beijing – many of them openly adversarial to the United States – a new stage was built.

Xi Jinping is making the case that China, not the United States, is now the anchor of global stability and prosperity. And whether intentionally or not, Donald Trump helped construct it.

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Why it matters

Trump’s unorthodox, often confrontational foreign policy has left many countries, including traditional US allies, questioning Washington’s reliability.

From trade wars to tariff threats, and from undermining Nato to wielding unilateral sanctions, Trump’s America is pushing others-willingly or not-into China’s gravitational pull.

“The origin of uncertainty today is America, which is unleashing trade wars with almost everyone, and undermining its own network of military alliances and security partnerships,” the Economist notes, highlighting the cost of Trump’s confrontational approach to foreign policy.

“To see the cost of Trump’s bullying, tally the world leaders flocking to China,” the Economist said in its blunt analysis.

And that’s exactly what Xi did. On full display this week was China’s convening power-not just with autocrats, but with once-West-leaning nations now hedging their bets.

“This week will be remembered as one in which the world shifted fundamentally,” said Josef Gregory Mahoney, professor of international relations at East China Normal University.

Zoom in: Trump the catalyst

At the heart of this transformation is a vacuum-one created not by Xi’s charm offensive, but by Trump’s bullying and Washington’s abdication of its global role.

Trump’s foreign policy-equal parts economic warfare and erratic bravado-has eroded the trust of allies and emboldened rivals. His administration has slapped tariffs on friend and foe alike, pulled back from multilateral institutions, and turned international diplomacy into a running grievance list.

Trump has embraced punishment as policy. India, once hailed as a strategic counterweight to China, found itself the target of steep tariffs. He simultaneously cozied up to Pakistan-India’s longtime rival. That double-hit was one of reasons why PM Narendra Modi attended the SCO meet in Tianjin, where he met with Xi and Putin in a visibly warm triad. It was PM Modi’s first trip to China in seven years.

It’s not without reason that photos of the three leaders – Xi, Modi and Putin -smiling, holding hands went viral.

Just months earlier, such a scene would’ve been unthinkable.

Between the lines

Trump’s erratic leadership has made China look like a more predictable, stable, and pragmatic global partner-at least in relative terms.

On trade:

While Trump flips between tariffs and praise, Xi offers economic carrots.

China is already the top trading partner for over 100 countries. Its pitch: We don’t lecture. We just build.

On sanctions:

Trump’s extraterritorial use of sanctions has spooked countries worldwide.

China and Russia are moving off the dollar. Even Europe is exploring a “global euro.”

On multilateralism:

Xi cloaks his ambitions in UN language, calling for “democratization of global governance.” In Tianjin, that meant restoring the UN Charter, not obeying “rules” made in Washington or Brussels.

“We want the UN Charter back-not someone else’s in-house rules,” said one SCO diplomat, paraphrasing China’s official line.

On security:

China and Russia unveiled deeper defense ties. Kim reportedly offered military support for Russia’s Ukraine war.

The rise of the “Xi doctrine”

China’s counter-narrative is deceptively simple: stability, predictability, multilateralism. Xi is positioning himself not as a disruptor, but as a fixer of global disorder-disorder unleashed, in Beijing’s telling, by an unhinged America.

“Global governance has reached a new crossroads,” Xi declared at the SCO summit, couching his vision in the language of multilateralism.

But his aim isn’t to empower smaller nations or preserve liberal norms. His goal is a world of strong regional powers, each dominant in its own sphere-an order in which China, not the United States, calls the shots in Asia.

There’s no small irony in Xi cloaking this vision in the vocabulary of the United Nations. State media now routinely refer to “UN-centered governance,” a barely veiled swipe at the US-led “rules-based international order,” which Beijing sees as code for Western discretion masquerading as universal law.

China wants a multipolar world-with Beijing at the centre.

The architecture replacing unipolarity

Xi isn’t just building influence. He’s building institutions:

A new SCO Development Bank, modeled on BRICS’ bank

Visa-free travel between China and Russia

Calls for a BRICS currency

Closer ties with ASEAN, OPEC+, and the Gulf states

Together, these groupings form a parallel world order-outside Western vetoes, without Nato-style obligations.

Xi’s vision? A “just and equitable global governance system”-coded language for big powers controlling their regions without Western interference.

What they’re saying

The Economist: “China’s boast to be an anchor of stability now rings true-at least in relative terms… Mr. Xi’s guest list does not demonstrate that China yet runs a new world order. But it does show how much damage Mr. Trump is doing to American interests.”

Michael Schuman, The Atlantic: “Trump gave America’s adversaries an opportunity they haven’t seized. But they’re showing up to Xi’s party anyway.”

Neil Thomas, Asia Society Policy Institute: “This week is a diplomatic triumph for Beijing. But China is still years away from matching US power in finance, security and technology.”

Sergey Radchenko, Johns Hopkins University: “Chinese leaders still see Western countries as a unit… and they need Russia as a counterbalance.”

The military message

While economic realignment is subtle, military symbolism is blunt. Xi’s parade wasn’t just about hardware. It was about hierarchy. Putin on one side. Kim on the other. The old Cold War adversaries now shoulder to shoulder. A pointed reminder that while the US once saw China and Russia as enemies of each other, they now share a common goal: ending US dominance.

Xi warned the world is “faced with a choice of peace or war.” But his choice of company-two nuclear-armed pariahs under Western sanctions-made his subtext plain.

Trump’s response? A Truth Social post dripping with sarcasm.

The big question to be answered is whether or not President Xi of China will mention the massive amount of support and “blood” that The United States of America gave to China in order to help it to secure its FREEDOM from a very unfriendly foreign invader. Many Americans died in China’s quest for Victory and Glory. I hope that they are rightfully Honored and Remembered for their Bravery and Sacrifice! May President Xi and the wonderful people of China have a great and lasting day of celebration. Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against The United States of America. Donald Trump on Truth Social

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov responded with barely concealed amusement: “I think not without irony, he said that these three are allegedly plotting against the United States.”

The limits of Beijing’s new order

To be clear, Xi is not yet king of a new world order. There are deep contradictions among his allies.

India and China have unresolved border skirmishes. Russia and China compete for influence in Central Asia. The SCO is no Nato.

As the Atlantic’s Michael Schuman put it, “Trump gave America’s adversaries an opportunity they haven’t seized.” China, despite its moment of diplomatic theater, has failed to make major inroads with Europe. Its aggressive posturing in the South China Sea continues to alienate Southeast Asian neighbors.

Still, the momentum matters. For countries tired of US hegemony but wary of Chinese control, the emerging system offers a third path: non-Western, multi-aligned, and increasingly organized.

And while Xi may not yet lead a cohesive bloc, he has what superpowers uniquely possess-the ability to convene, to absorb contradictions, and to shape the future just by showing up.

Xi doesn’t have to replace the American-led order in one grand move. He only has to keep making it irrelevant. Trump, with every outburst and tariff, is helping him do just that.

(With inputs from agencies)