Rare talks between U.S. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping fall against the backdrop of a more fractured world, a new study finds.
www.cnbc.com
Rare, high-stakes diplomatic talks between U.S. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Wednesday will fall against the backdrop of a more fractured world.
International relations have become increasingly "a la carte," according to a new survey, with countries more likely to "mix and match" their geopolitical alliances.
Many citizens believe the West is in demise, with U.S. democracy and the EU at risk of collapse, and with increased economic ties with China growing more appealing.
Pluralities of global citizens believe the West is in demise — with U.S. democracy and the European Union at risk of collapse within the next 20 years. They also find that increased economic ties with China are growing more appealing, according to polling of adults across 11 European countries and 10 non-European ones.
"Rather than clinging to the eirenic world of yesterday," leaders need to "understand the new rules of an 'a la carte game,' with respect to international relations and seek new partners across crucial issues facing our war-torn world," co-author and director of the ECFR, Mark Leonard, said of the findings.
Still, Western nations continued to enjoy superior popularity on values such as human rights, leadership, security and overall living standards.
If forced to choose, the survey found that respondents almost everywhere said they would prefer to be part of an American bloc, rather than cooperating with China and its partners. That was the majority view in South Korea, India, Brazil, South Africa and Turkey, with 50% of respondents from Saudi Arabia also sharing the opinion. Russia was the single outlier on that question, with a majority indicating a preference toward China.
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