Trump is a symptom, not a cause

At Bloomberg’s New Economy Forum in New Delhi on Oct. 13, former British prime minister Rishi Sunak argued that the US-led global order has effectively ended and the world has entered a period of heightened geopolitical uncertainty and risk. He said Donald Trump should be viewed as a symptom of that breakdown rather than its root cause, because broader power realignments are under way: China now competes with the United States as a peer across economic, military and technological spheres, and countries such as India and Gulf states enjoy greater latitude to pursue independent policies.

Sunak warned that heavy reliance on China for critical minerals and pharmaceutical ingredients creates strategic vulnerabilities, and he urged diversification toward trusted partners to build resilience. He said such moves could make India a major beneficiary as the US, Britain and allies seek alternative supply chains. He also highlighted an economic shift in capital markets, noting technology companies are poised to become larger net issuers of long-term debt than the US government in 2027, a sign of changing financial as well as geopolitical power dynamics.