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The Big Picture brings together a range of PS commentaries to give readers a comprehensive understanding of topics in the news – and the deeper issues driving the news. The Big Question features concise contributor analysis and predictions on timely topics.
Xi's Weltpolitik
Since US President Donald Trump's inauguration, China has increasingly come to be regarded as a new pole of global power and leadership. The question, then, is what China’s leaders have in mind for their country's enhanced role on the world stage.
In this Big Picture, Barry Eichengreen predicts that China will gradually replace existing multilateral economic institutions with more Sinocentric arrangements. And as Elizabeth Sidiropoulus points out, this is already evident within the BRICS bloc, where China is now primus inter pares.
Likewise, Kevin Rudd expects China to step up its "international activism" substantially in the coming years, in accordance with Xi's Marxist interpretation of the current historical moment. By contrast, Minxin Pei points to mounting domestic troubles that could derail Xi's agenda.
