Panel
Should the world fear Trump-Putin-Xi collusion? | The Economist
- Potential APEC summit outcomes remain speculative despite rumors of a free agenda, with concerns that Donald Trump may be underprepared for negotiations, risking ambushes or relying on the theater of dominance rather than substantive preparation.
- Strategic discussions on nuclear disarmament are anticipated by some participants, driven by Putin's desire to leverage Russia's military superiority and boost his international status, particularly to offset limited achievements in Ukraine, though China has historically refused to engage in arms control talks until its arsenal matches other major powers.
- Rhetoric generated at such meetings is expected to carry consequences even if the events devolve into significant posturing, as the concept of leaders carving the world into spheres of influence, reminiscent of Yalta, is deemed unfeasible given the difficulty of maintaining such boundaries and the lack of modern willingness to occupy nations with millions of soldiers.
- The global order is undergoing a fundamental shift where current power dynamics are being altered by technologies like AI, which Russia is predicted to fail to catch up on, rendering outdated any hopes of a pre-Trump return to great power empires or the ability to impose dominance over regions like the Western Hemisphere.
- While Putin envisions a sovereign internet and isolated AI infrastructure, these concepts are characterized as lacking realistic limits, and the broader prediction is that Russia's global relevance will diminish significantly within 30 years as the old world order ends and a new one has not yet emerged.
- Future leaders will face the necessity of forging new international frameworks, as the notion of relaxing into a post-carve-up arrangement is impossible and the maintenance of spheres of influence is increasingly far-fetched in a world where technological advancements have redefined power relations.