Cosmopolitans: I hope you a had a great summer and are ready to tackle together what promises to be a global news-filled fall.
I’m back in Washington after spending the past ten months in New York as the Edward R. Murrow Press Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. It was humbling to be part of a 75-year tradition, following in the footsteps of some of America’s most respected foreign policy journalists.
The fellowship was the thrill of a lifetime. I’ve been an avid reader of Foreign Affairs since high school, joined CFR as a Term Member, and became a Lifetime Member five years later. To spend the year working alongside some of the sharpest minds in foreign policy truly felt like stepping into the ultimate candy store for global affairs wonks.
In addition to supporting CFR’s initiatives, I pursued my own research exploring the intersection of social media, global affairs, and civic engagement among American youth. In an age of constant connectivity, young people are more globally aware than ever—swiping through international crises with the same ease as checking the latest TikTok trend. I’ll be sharing more of this work in the coming weeks.
A highlight of the fellowship was getting to know the remarkable cohort of visiting fellows, including senior military officers nominated by the chiefs of staff from across the armed services. Their insights into global security were shaped not only by study but by lived experience in some of the world’s most challenging and high-stakes environments. Spending time with them gave me an even deeper respect for those who serve—and a profound appreciation for the weight of the oath they take to defend the Constitution.
The year was transformative. But it brings me back to why I write here in the first place — to connect the dots between global power plays and the way they ripple into our lives. I’m now glad to have more time now to devote to Cosmopolitics and to building our growing community here. In the weeks ahead, I’ll be sharing some thoughts about the road forward, along with questionnaires to hear what kinds of stories and interviews you’d like to see.
On that note: Dany and I will be back TODAY at 5:30 pm with Hot Takes Happy Hour. As always, feel free to send questions and suggested topics in the comments.
So with gratitude for the past year, let’s dive into the issues that will define the next one: China’s growing economic, military and political leadership on the world stage.
From Tiananmen Gate to the Avenue of Eternal Peace, Beijing became a global stage this week, and Xi Jinping was the director. Tanks rumbled. Jets screamed overhead. Nuclear-capable missiles flexed their reach. And in the front row, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un flanked Xi — the one holding the pen for the next chapter of global power. Iran’s Masoud Pezeshkian joined the party, too, turning the parade into less a show of national pride than a dress rehearsal for the world’s most authoritarian boy band.
For Putin, it was another chance, after his meeting with Trump in Alaska, to step in from the cold and receive some image rehab from grinding war in Ukraine. For Kim, it was a rare ticket to relevance outside his nuclear arsenal. And for Xi, it was proof that even in a world designed by Washington, he could stage-manage a cast of strongmen on the global stage. Western analysts have dubbed this grouping the “axis of upheaval” — a reminder that, whether formal alliance or not, the image itself carries weight.
The parade capped a week of careful choreography. At the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin, Xi had already cast China as the calm, responsible counterweight to the chaos emanating from the White House. “The world has found itself in a new period of turbulence and transformation,” he declared, a line that doubled as both warning and sales pitch. It was a subtle jab at Washington’s erratic trade wars, abrupt policy reversals, and tendency to turn diplomacy into a domestic stage show. Xi positioned himself as the arbiter of balance — the one holding the pen while Washington scrambles for a signature.
President Donald Trump came into office promising to counter China, but the ledger tells a different story. He started strong with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, making the case for India as a strategic partner. But tariffs and self-congratulatory claims about mediating India-Pakistan tensions quickly soured that momentum. Announcing that you’ve solved Kashmir is the diplomatic equivalent of bragging that you cracked the Middle East over brunch. With Putin in Helsinki, Trump didn’t so much stand up to him as audition for the role of Kremlin press secretary. He had amble opportunities to demonstrate resolve — to match Xi’s theatrics with a show of American spine — and instead chose to perform loyalty tests that left allies unsettled and adversaries emboldened.
The economic dimension makes this week particularly sobering. Xi, Putin, and Modi preside over massive economies that are steadily knitting themselves together while the U.S. sulks in the cheap seats. Trade deals, energy pipelines, infrastructure promises — stitched together with the precision of an algorithm. Tariffs, Trump’s trademark move, have done the opposite of what was intended: instead of weakening China or isolating Russia, they’ve pushed these economies closer, accelerating their resilience. It is a self-inflicted wound, an unintended gift to Beijing wrapped in doves, fireworks, and carefully staged smiles.
No U.S. president would want to share a stage with this cast of leaders, yet there they all stood, a panorama of the bets Trump staked his presidency on: solving Russia’s war in Ukraine, beating Xi on the global economy, remaking South Asia with Modi’s help. Seeing them together was less a coincidence than a reminder: these bets are not paying off. Each leader represents a challenge Trump claimed he could master. Together, they form a living memo that transactional impulsiveness cannot outmaneuver patience, persistence, and mutual interest.
The optics were meticulously planned. Xi shook Kim’s hand just long enough to ensure headlines, clasped Putin’s shoulder for the cameras, then marched the trio out, ahead of all of the other visiting leaders, to watch the display. It sent a chilling message: Putin and Kim were the two most important allies to the world’s second largest economy.
It was the kind of military parade Trump had wanted. The weapons were futuristic — stealth drones, robotic “wolves,” laser systems, hypersonic missiles, underwater nuclear-capable drones. Yet the real payload was symbolic. North Korea is feeding Russia artillery; Iran supplies drones and missiles; China cushions Moscow with trade and energy imports. Individually, they’re fragile. Collectively, they look like a bloc the West can’t easily dismiss.
Attendance told its own story. Serbia and Slovakia were the only Western-leaning nations present. The rest were Xi’s preferred company: Pakistan, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, Central Asia, Southeast Asia. Modi showed up for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization but skipped the parade — hedging, as ever, between Beijing and Washington. Still, Xi didn’t need India at Tiananmen. Modi was there for the serious talks. He had the imagery he wanted at the parade: Putin, Kim, and Pezeshkian, together in the square where China has long rehearsed its power plays.
This “axis of upheaval” is not seamless. Russia is mired in war. Iran struggles with unrest. North Korea remains isolated. China itself faces a slowing economy. Yet weakness can be a glue as much as strength. Shared defiance of the West is the common language, and Xi has now given it choreography.
Xi’s speech from the reviewing stand blended defiance and reassurance. China, he said, “is never intimidated by any bullies.” Humanity must choose between dialogue or confrontation, win-win outcomes or zero-sum games. The language was lofty; the meaning was blunt. He positioned China as the voice of patience in a world that sees America as volatile. And just to underline the point, Trump responded from afar with social media broadsides about conspiracies — reactive, theatrical, and a little desperate.
Meanwhile, Xi was handing out checks and hugs like the Oprah of authoritarianism: You get a gas deal! You get a summit! Trump threatened; Xi rewarded. Trump lectured; Xi toasted. The economic message was unmistakable: while Washington brags, Beijing builds.
The week closed with a reception at the Great Hall of the People. Xi raised his glass to “common prosperity for all humankind,” but the subtext was clearer: Beijing is not just showing off its military muscle. It is projecting diplomatic patience, narrative control, and economic foresight. The West can mock the parade as theater, but Xi has seized the pen and is already writing the act— while Washington, distracted and divided, watches from the cheap seats.