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Xi鈥檚 axis of frenemies

China's Xi Jinping assembled foreign leaders including Putin, Kim Jong Un and Modi in Beijing this week. Is he redrawing the global power balance or just keeping his rivals close?

President Xi Jinping said humanity faces "a choice between peace and war鈥 as China paraded a huge arsenal of weapons 鈥 including nuclear missiles 鈥 in Beijing yesterday.

Xi's military parade, watched over by Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, seemed a provocation to the west 鈥 most notably, Donald Trump 鈥 and a signal of his will to redraw the world order, lessening China鈥檚 reliance on the US.

In today's episode, the 蜜芽传媒's Celia Hatton considers: how long will China's friendships last with world leaders who have for years been its rivals?

Producers: Hannah Moore and Lucy Pawle
Executive Producer: James Shield
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior News Editor: China Collins

Image: Xi Jingping at a WW2 anniversary reception at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Florence Lo/Reuters

Available now

26 minutes

Broadcast

  • Last Thursday 10:32GMT

Podcast