A week that changed the world

President Xi in Davos and at the United Nations office in Geneva, restated his goal to stay the agreed course on climate change. It was a pleasant shock to the world in 2015 that China and the US would play a joint leadership role in assuring the implementation of the Paris Climate Accord. This was a bold bilateral achievement and a concrete example of a new great power relationship. Now however, it appears that the US may renege on that pledge because the new administration does not subscribe to overwhelming scientific evidence that human activity is to blame for global warming. Apparently, China has also been ceded leadership here too. The only good news perhaps is that it would take four years for the US to withdraw from the Accord.

Being in Davos, is not merely about making speeches. It’s the ultimate networking event. President Xi held many meetings there and continued building bridges for China with global movers and shakers that he can build on in the years to come. His visits to the UN Office in Geneva, the headquarters of the World Health Organization and the International Olympic Committeefurther underscored China’s commitment to multilateralism and to responsibly shoulder its responsibilities as a full-fledged world leader.

The contrast with the other two events during this week that changed the world couldn’t be more stark.

In contrast to President Xi’s remarks, the announcement by the British Prime Minister that the United Kingdom, the world’s super power of its time, would abandon the single market, customs union and the European Court of Justice in order to achieve a clean break with the European Union marks the UK’s further decline and possible dismemberment, and may also signal the beginning of the end for the EU as we know it. It is significant evidence of the recent world-wide trend away from world and regional cooperation that has governed the globe since the end of World War II to one of anti-internationalism and neo-isolationism.

And then there is the new American president, Mr. Trump, a wild card to say the least. We’ll just have to hold our collective breath and wait and see what he does.

The author is a senior featured contributor of China Daily website.