Former US Official Predicts Global Bloc Divisions Will Endure Despite China Trade Deal
A former senior US trade official provided an in-depth analysis of the future trends in global geopolitics, emphasizing that any trade agreement between the United States and China will only serve to temporarily ease bilateral tensions.
She highlighted that such an agreement will not alter the strategic trajectories of the two powers nor impact the ongoing global split into distinct geopolitical blocs.
Charlene Barsefski, who previously served as the US trade envoy during Bill Clinton’s presidency in the 1990s, stated that, at best, such an accord would hold tactical significance in the short term but would not shape the future international order.
She forecasts that the world will gradually divide into three main blocks: one led by the US and its allies, another headed by China encompassing countries of the Global South, possibly including the Middle East and Russia, and a third group of nations outside any bloc, including India.
Barsefski also echoed the views of Gita Gopinath, former deputy managing director of the IMF, who last year warned that geopolitical fragmentation among these potential alliances could lead to significant economic losses worldwide.