Xi Jinping Is Done With the Established World Order
Snubbing the G20 is just the beginning. China wants to replace it.
The world’s most powerful leaders gathered in New Delhi for the year’s premier diplomatic event—the G20 summit—but China’s Xi Jinping deemed it not worth his time. His absence sends a stark signal: China is done with the established world order.
Ditching the summit marks a dramatic turn in China’s foreign policy. For the past several years, Xi has apparently sought to make China an alternative to the West. Now Xi is positioning his country as a full-on opponent—ready to align its own bloc against the United States, its partners, and the international institutions they support.
Xi’s break with the establishment has been a long time coming. His predecessors integrated China into the U.S.-led
