Today’s post is an edited transcript of a talk given last month by the prolific and ubiquitous Zheng Yongnian (郑永年)—a political scientist who spent most of his career abroad and has now fully espoused his new role as one of China’s most prominent public intellectuals.

Zheng is deeply concerned by the global rise of populism and describes Donald Trump as a quasi-fascist who risks leading the world into utter chaos if he were to return to power. While there are those in China who may see this primarily as a strategic opportunity for their country, Zheng evidently does not. The re-election of Joe Biden (or another Democrat) may not prevent the West from gradually decoupling from China, nor the world from splitting into two separate blocs, he says, but it could at least help slow down the advance of extremism and reduce the risk of war.

Zheng depicts a dangerous world in which China is surrounded by treacherous neighbours, which include Japan, India, but also Russia. As often highlighted i…