From China filling a global power vacuum to Iran's relationship with the U. S., Eurasia Group president Ian Bremmer breaks down the list
China’s global leadership, missteps in relations with countries including North Korea, and a technology Cold War are some of the top geopolitical risks we face in 2018, according to Eurasia Group, a leading political risk consulting firm.
“In the 20 years since we started Eurasia Group, the global environment has had its ups and downs,” writes Eurasia Group president and CBS News senior global affairs contributor Ian Bremmer. “But if we had to pick one year for a big unexpected crisis—the geopolitical equivalent of the 2008 financial meltdown—it feels like 2018.”
“China loves a vacuum” topped the list of 10 risks, pointing to a “power vacuum” the United States is creating with its “America First” stance in the global arena. It’s a vacuum that China is now filling.
“They have the strongest leader in Xi Jinping they’ve had at least since Mao [Zedong]. And because the United States is America first, it’s transactional. It’s unilateral. It’s undermining a lot of alliances. You put those things together and suddenly you actually have a China that is willing to engage in what is increasingly a geopolitical vacuum,” Bremmer told “CBS This Morning” on Tuesday. “In other words, this is the first time we’ve ever seen as U. S. leadership erodes, no one else has been standing up. Now the leader of China is saying we’re prepared to stand up whether it’s on climate or the global economy, you know, regional security, you name it, that’s a big change for the world.”
Bremmer said “Americans are in many ways abdicating” and China is attracting countries that want alternatives to U. S. partnerships “because the Chinese are writing really big checks.”
“You just saw [President] Trump yesterday tweeting and saying Pakistan, we’re not going to give them money anymore, they’re not doing anything on terrorism. You know what? Trump has a point. We need more from the Pakistanis, but the Chinese are already by far the most important economic contributor to Pakistan,” Bremmer said.
