Vanishing Red Lines: “China and the Reordering of Global Power” Series

The world has entered a deeply unsettled phase of multi-crises, where already fragile red lines of the world order are being further erased. The escalating sense that the old order is no longer holding in the way it once did is driven by the:

• Wars in Gaza and across the Middle East
• Wide-reaching impact from the US/Israel war on Iran and the Strait of Hormuz
• Weaponisation of tariffs
• Pressing climate concerns and intentional inaction
• Securitisation of technological advances
• Weakening perceived legitimacy and authority of long-established Western political systems

The rules of trade, technology, cooperation, energy, security, and the norms of diplomacy are being pulled in different directions. The result is a more fragmented global landscape in which influence is shifting, alliances are less certain, might is seen as right, and the assumptions of the post-Cold War era are increasingly untenable.

Building on GIFT’s earlier exploration of China’s place in the world, this new multi-conference series asks what China’s role is and how is it changing at this inflection point in world history where multiple long-established norms, processes, and systems have shattered.

As global perceptions on Western influence are irrevocably shaken, resulting power vacuums draw in new actors, and the world seeks alternatives to leadership – is China increasingly being viewed as a stabilising force, a strategic beneficiary, or a challenge to the Western-led systems that have long shaped global power in the post-colonial era? How is Beijing responding and adapting to conflict, fragmentation, and economic realignment? And as Western institutions and actors lose trust and face fresh questions about their credibility and reach, what role will China play with other emerging powers in the next phase of global reconfiguration?