Key Points and Summary – This week’s massive military parade in Beijing, where Xi Jinping hosted Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un, marked the open start of “Cold War 2.”
-This Chinese-led “axis of upheaval,” including Russia, North Korea, and Iran, is now directly challenging the U.S.-led liberal order.
-The West’s decades-long gamble that economic engagement would liberalize China has failed, instead creating a rich and powerful adversary.
-This new bloc of repressive, expansionist autocracies is now set for a long, Cold War-style twilight struggle against the Free World, fueled by Chinese economic power.
How Cold War 2 Might Have Just Started
This week, Chinese President Xi Jinping led a massive celebration of the eightieth anniversary of World War II’s conclusion.
Billed as a memorial for triumph in the ‘World Anti-Fascist War,’ the event was itself quite fascist in tone. Xi invited some of the world’s worst, most repressive autocrats, and together they watched a massive military spectacle of goose-stepping soldiers and hi-tech weapons. Xi particularly highlighted the appearance of Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, and North Korea’s supreme leader, Kim Jong-un.
These three countries, together with Iran, are increasingly aligned in their rejection of the liberal international order and American preponderance. They clearly have revisionist and expansionist goals—most obviously in Ukraine and Taiwan.
To date, their cooperation has been more transactional than ideological; they are more like a gang than an alliance. But increasingly they appear to be cooperating. China and North Korea, for example, are actively supporting a Russian victory in Ukraine.
American Senator Mitch McConnell has said that this ‘axis of upheaval’ represents the greatest threat to the US in a century. That is likely an exaggeration; the Nazis and Soviets were fearsome, too. But it is the greatest challenge to the liberal international order since the end of the Cold War. And the Free World is going to have to work together to surmount it.
The Return of Great Power Competition
For decades following the end of the Cold War in 1990, the US was the lone superpower. Its values and preferences set the tone for international politics. That was broadly liberal; America generally supported democracy, liberalism, and free trade.
It was in this context that the US gambled on the inclusion of China in the world economy. In the 1990s, President Bill Clinton, with much bipartisan support, supported China’s entrance into the World Trade Organization. The hope was that China’s economic liberalization would lead to its political liberalization.
This was not an unreasonable expectation. Economic liberalization in dictatorships like Taiwan and South Korea appeared to fuel later political liberalization, and the scholarship of the time was broadly supportive. In retrospect, however, this gamble has failed badly. Economic liberalization did not politically open China. In fact, it exacerbated the problem of Chinese power. In the early 1990s, China was authoritarian and poor. Today, it is still authoritarian, but now it is rich—and substantially more threatening.
This is why US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on China have met with far more acceptance than his duties against US allies. Trade with China, now, is feeding the dragon; it is making our geopolitical problems worse.
Cold War 2
China’s tremendous growth fuels the axis of upheaval. China is, by far, the most economically substantial autocracy in the world. Without it, Russia, North Korea, and Iran could not hope to challenge the liberal international order. And Chinese economic power is increasingly behind an illiberal agenda likely to cast China and the Free World into a cold war.
Briefly under Xi’s predecessors, China was a more liberal place. But Xi has turned China into a deeply intrusive surveillance state and turned up the pressure substantially on China’s maritime neighbors. It is highly unlikely that the Free World will comfortably accept territorial concessions to an Orwellian tyranny. The first Cold War was driven as much by postwar Soviet expansionism in Eastern Europe as by sheer terror at the model of society built by Joseph Stalin. That is repeating itself.
Xi, Putin, and Kim have all replicated the police state features of Stalinism. All are arguably fascist states—complete with angry nationalist ideology, widespread militarism, Orwellian state control, foreign expansion, paranoia about the West and liberalism, and so on.
Nuclear weapons—specifically, fear of a nuclear exchange—may prevent a general war between these autocrats and the Free World, as they did during the first Cold War. But they will not stop the slide into a long, Cold War-style twilight struggle between two highly incompatible political systems.
Chinese power is the greatest challenge the US has faced since the early Cold War, and China has the wealth to wage a cold war even longer than the Soviet Union could. This tension will last for decades, and this week’s parade may be remembered as the day that the second Cold War openly started.
About the Author: Dr. Robert Kelly, Pusan National University
Dr. Robert E. Kelly is a professor of international relations in the Department of Political Science and Diplomacy at Pusan National University in South Korea. His research interests focus on Security in Northeast Asia, U.S. foreign policy, and international financial institutions. He has written for outlets including Foreign Affairs, the European Journal of International Relations, and the Economist, and he has spoken on television news services including BBC and CCTV. His personal website/blog is here; his Twitter page is here.
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Bankotsu
September 6, 2025 at 6:33 am
This guy is nothing but a clown.
He is okay with Israeli genocide in Gaza, why is he whining about Kim Jong Un? Is he committing genocide?
Jim
September 6, 2025 at 10:04 am
Has a new Cold War unfolded before us?
Not yet, but it sits on the table as a distinct possibility.
We’ve been on the edge of a new Cold War in Europe since the February 24, 2022 invasion by Russia into Ukraine to stop NATO expansion up to their border.
Sadly, in reaction to the Biden administration rejecting negotiations on restricting NATO in Ukraine, Putin chose to force negotiations with a proverbial gun to the head of Kiev’s leaders, a dangerous strategy which ended up failing (at this point the matter seems destined to be settled on the battlefield).
China isn’t looking for a Asian Cold War (but China definitely wants Taiwan reunited with mainland China).
If there is a new Global Cold War, it will be a result of the United States actions because it fails to come to grips with the new multipolar World and fails to adjust its foreign policy accordingly.
The United States has had a failing foreign policy for the last 25 years and is on the edge of a Cold War of its own making.
It’s an open question which way the United States will go. China’s President Xi is right.
Will the United States choose war or peace?
It’s our choice to make, we do control our own destiny.
Swamplaw Yankee
September 9, 2025 at 1:25 am
Again: is this KOMRADE zzhhimmm agit-prop an AI algorithm? The same Stalin type hype of old just pours out 24/7 in 2025.
Control your own destiny in Stalin’s Genocide Grip: yeah, baby, the first fart of self-control, and the FSB/KGB immediately punish those who even smell your attempt at deviation from the Stalin death control and do not REPORT their olfactory suspicions.
Same in the conflict of empires: State your own choice inside tsarling Putin’s genocide line and what exactly happens, astute readers?
A KOMRADE zzhhimmm from tsarling Putin’s FSB will materialize beside you, ready to take your brain cells into a wonderful Canadian invention: the modern concentration camp. Correction, the option, a nearby multi-story window.
KOMRADE zzhhimmm misleads the reader about the 2025 COLD War origin. The 2025 COLD WAR started in 2012-14 when the NAZI-like FSB invested huge billions of rubles to ignite its latent, waiting, traitor network inside the independent country of Ukraine.
Tsarling Putin, deranged in his russkie genetic need for Ukrainian “Lolita” packages, gave the signal for his NAZI-like FSB to ignite the millions of ethnic “Genocider” progeny so latent, so patiently awaiting their long promised FREE Ukrainian real estate.
Ethnic Genocide of Ukrainians worked so beautifully in 1932-33. Russkie butchers suddenly owned thousands of horses, cows, pigs or farms, homes, factories, gas stations, stores: all FREE real estate for russkie ethnics if you followed exactly fascist Stalin’s directions.
But that was Grandfather. The 2012-13 ethnic Russkie wanted instant gratification, FREE real estate, FREE kiddie abuse, right now: in 2013-14. Who could get rid of the pesky original inhabitants that Grandfather could not butcher in 1933? Why, Puti the Paedophile at your service, KOMRADE X, your own ethnic blood brother.
Suddenly, in 2013-14 millions of ethnic Russkies hiding out inside Ukraine were out in the streets hunting for Ukrainian blood. The reliable 1986 con used by Putin in Serbia could be successfully re-applied in Ukraine. The only issue to be spoken in the MSM by Putin’s minion vassals was to be the Russian language issue.
After all, the Doodle Dandy idiots in the USA could not figure out the Balkan War miasma fog then, and, in 2025, still can not figure out why the USA POTUS Clinton approved the USA air force bombing of the PRC CCP official embassy in Belgrade, during the Balkan WAR! Was the bombing of the Chinese embassy really approved by Clinton just to protect the Serbian language speakers in all the other Balkan states? Boy, would that scam really work in the Obama Democrat Cabal!!
The idiots in the POTUS Obama Democrat Cabal were penetrated by the NAZI-like FSB and would dance in the MSM exactly the way Putin demanded Obama dance.
The COLD WAR is a long game by the NAZI-like FSB structure. That the USA MSM is stupid + penetrated, is the Putin regime’s high card.
Putin activated his NAZI-like FSB to ignite the latent Genocide butchers inside of independent Ukraine. Suddenly, independent Ukraine was being pushed by NAZI-like FSB run russkkie traitor fronts to choose the Putin “DESTINY”, not that vile garbage that the NAZI-like FSB claimed was the WEST..
Ohh, the wailing in the USA MSM begun, Russkiee traitors inside Ukraine want, demand FREE real estate from the very few grandchildren left of those 20,000,000 Ukrainians Stalin butchered in the 1932-33 HOLODOMOR. The latent russkie traitor network(s) want new Russian army Tanks/Trucks/ammo to expedite a quick Basement Butcher of those few survivor Ukrainian families from 1932-33. So very strangely, No KGB families died from starvation in 1932-33.
And, the language scam worked beautifully on the POTUS Obama Democrat Cabal. The POTUS Obama deeply admired his marxist blood brothers in Moscow! POTUS Obama immediately, unilaterally, green lit that the USA White House Cabal would stonewall any NATO, or similar WEST believer type, that would speak in the MSM about the 2014 POTUS Obama “BETRAYAL” of NATO and the Yankee allies of the WEST.
The rest: the reader can watch 2014 era documentary media podcasts as Putin’s NAZI-like FSB agents ignited Putin’s long prepared, latent networks of russkie saboutures to openly attack and destroy Ukrainian speaking families, homes and businesses.
Once marxist Obama did his Benedict Arnold openly on the MSM, the Nazi-like FSB directed the russkie speaking traitors to openly attack Ukrainian state employees, such as police, fire, civic administrations, etc. The Nazi-like FSB directed particular traitor force onto the few Ukrainian armed forces in these oblasts. The Documentary video shows confused Ukrainian low level soldiers completely dumb to the fact that the FSB traitor mobs were paid FSB flunkies, attacking the Soldiers so as to get FREE any real estate that Ukrainians owned, 1932-33 Stalin style.
In a very few locations, Ukrainian speakers understood this long game of Putin’s NAZI-like FSB and local residence resistance to the well paid FSB traitors self-developed.
The Local Ukrainians actually understood the long-game of the NAZI-like FSB agent network. Therefore, physical and often lethal confrontations developed as the NAZI-like traitors tried to kill Ukrainian speakers where ever they could catch local Ukrainians.
This NAZI-like FSB network ignited, well lubricated with free unlimited flowing armed invaders from inside the Putin controlled Russia. They too wanted their share of FREE real estate.
Today, just 13-14 years later, the NAZI-like FSB repackages their activity blatantly: even on the OPEN AI. There was no HOLODOMOR, there is no “official” proof Stalin’s KGB killed anyone, let alone the huge number of 20,000,000 Ukrainians. Maybe about 20,000 Ukrainians forgot in 1932 where their food was and starved. So many KGB families also died of starvation: Not. It goes on in the “AI disinformation” agit-prop world.
The COLD War was re-started way back in 2012-13 by Putin and his NAZI-like FSB attacking independent Ukraine. That many in the USA want to deflect from, or avoid, the 2014 POTUS Obama Democrat Cabal green lighting of the re-start of the ancient 1000 year old russkie Genocide of Ukrainians is a tragic fact. Does that real tangible fact get inputted on every AI server? Hmmm? That is a vital question that needs to be posed and answered 24/7 by every company running AI for public consumption. Will the USA see that question posed + replies posted 24/7? What peer reader can answer that?
The COLD WAR is on for at least 12-13 years! That the op-ed starts to perceive that only when the PRC CCP Xi regime wants the Han share of FREE Ukrainian real estate is so vile.
The COLD WAR underway in 2025 is integral to the PRC CCP Xi regime. The PRC CCP wants/demands that the Han control/destroy the proven industrial/aviation complex that Ukrainians run and own. The PRC understands that the Putin Nazi-like FSB are only parasites, just living off Ukraine/Ukrainians for over 1000 years. As the PRC CCP expedites the GENOCIDE of Ukrainians, as the PRC CCP Xi regime does daily, then the Parasite Putin has nothing as only the HAN PRC CCP is left with the one remaining industrial/Aviation base.
Cold War 2 is long, long underway! For confirmation, just ask any Ukrainian civilian who daily survives the PRC CCP Xi regime supplied Missile/drone attack reserves that the PR vassal, Puti the Paedo, shoots at ordinary Ukrainian speakers. -30-