Chinese leader Xi Jinping's ambition by now is clear: to reclaim his country's global greatness and establish itself over time as the preeminent economic and political power, not only in Asia but across the world stage, writes Atlantic Council CEO Fred Kempe.
This past week provided insight into something any American president of the past few decades could have told him. World leadership is complicated. It comes with increased costs, responsibilities and scrutiny from partners who, in Beijing's case, question whether China's historic rise will contribute to a better world – or just a more powerful and autocratic China.
His shift in tone was also positive proof that Chinese leaders, and perhaps Xi himself, have belatedly recognized the need to respond to growing grumbling, both at home and abroad, about Beijing's increasing authoritarianism, its growing international assertiveness, and its perceived arrogance when confronted with criticism.
Still, don't mistake Xi's recalibration for retreat. Instead, China's friends see in Xi's Friday speech an ability to alter tactics in the face of new obstacles. Privately, Chinese elites still see the arc of history bending in their direction – though they worry that Xi's new assertiveness has stirred up unneeded opposition.
Rudd argues that China finds "additional strength" in the "continued absence of an American grand strategy of its own in the post-Soviet era. While China has been surprised by the U.S.-China trade war initiated by Trump, they are confident it will soon find its resolution." Perhaps the greatest uncertainty for Beijing's leadership is how – and with what impact -- the United States will respond to China's rise, once it has closed its trade deal, now expected by mid-June.
At the very least, the United States needs to compete harder, and do more to galvanize friends and allies in common cause. That's particularly true, write the authors of a newly released study, in the infrastructure realm where the world will need $94 trillion in investments by 2040.a report of the CSIS' Global Infrastructure Task Force, China has made itself "the most significant and ambitious strategic initiative of the twenty-first century so far.
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