Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers has expressed concern that many countries, including China, Russia and the Middle East, are aligning themselves to increase their global influence.” I think (it) is a big challenge for the United States,” he warned.
Larry Summers on countries uniting against the U.S.
Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers expressed concern about more countries gaining global influence over the United States on Bloomberg TV on Friday. The remarks were made on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Washington, D.C.
Summers is currently the Charles W. Eliot University Professor at Harvard University. He previously served as Director of the National Economic Council, Secretary of the U.S. Treasury, and Chief Economist at the World Bank.
He explained that more and more countries are putting themselves on the other side of the U.S., elaborating:
And even more troubling, there seems to be a growing awareness that the pieces we need to engage may not be optimal.
The former Secretary of the Treasury spoke thus: “What we get from China is airports. What we get from the U.S. is lectures,” he said.
Recently, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva visited China and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Lula said Saturday that Brazil-China relations are going beyond that stage of “commodity” exports. The Brazilian president also urged the developing country to abandon the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency. China also recently brokered talks with Iran and Saudi Arabia, the two largest oil producers in the Middle East. Iran and Saudi Arabia have since agreed to restore relations and reopen embassies, seven years after the breakdown of relations.
Summers opines on the growing relationship between the Middle East and China:
What is happening in the Middle East… I think the diplomatic relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iran, mediated by China, represents a big challenge for the United States.
In addition, OPEC+ members, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, recently agreed to cut oil production; OPEC+ is a group of 23 oil exporting countries that meet regularly to decide how much oil to sell on the world market.
The economist added: “We are on the right side of history. He added: “Our commitment to democracy, our resistance to Russian aggression, etc. He opined:
But the right side of history is a bit lonely. Those who seem to be less and less on the right side of history are more and more united.