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China Versus the US: Kishore Mahbubani on a Zero-Sum Rivalry - The Mishal Husain Show
May 14, 2026 The Mishal Husain Show
Beyond this week’s talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump, there’s an epic tale that has been unfolding for decades. It’s a battle to be the world’s number one power and a much bigger story than the latest meeting of these two men.
Kishore Mahbubani is a former Singaporean diplomat who served as president of the United Nations Security Council. For two decades, he has argued that the West fundamentally misunderstands the rise of China and its challenge to American supremacy.
Mahbubani. who eventually turned to academia, now specializes in governance and public policy. In this conversation with Mishal Husain, he traces the story behind the Xi-Trump talks, the handshakes and the social media posts–and what may lie ahead.
Mahbubani also reveals how his own successes were made possible by Singapore’s remarkable growth.
[...]
00:00 Introduction from Mishal Husain
03:11 “The most important contest of our time”
05:51 “China can no longer be stopped”
07:00 US versus China: It’s a “zero-sum” game
08:20 Bill Clinton’s first meeting with Jiang Zemin
12:24 Cold War comparisons
18:25 Growing up in Singapore in the 1950s
20:20 "My mother never cracked”
26:05 “China has become a tiger”
30:46 US war is a “gift” to China
Beyond this week’s talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump, there’s an epic tale that has been unfolding for decades. It’s a battle to be the world’s number one power and a much bigger story than the latest meeting of these two men.
Kishore Mahbubani is a former Singaporean diplomat who served as president of the United Nations Security Council. For two decades, he has argued that the West fundamentally misunderstands the rise of China and its challenge to American supremacy.
Mahbubani. who eventually turned to academia, now specializes in governance and public policy. In this conversation with Mishal Husain, he traces the story behind the Xi-Trump talks, the handshakes and the social media posts–and what may lie ahead.
Mahbubani also reveals how his own successes were made possible by Singapore’s remarkable growth.
[...]
00:00 Introduction from Mishal Husain
03:11 “The most important contest of our time”
05:51 “China can no longer be stopped”
07:00 US versus China: It’s a “zero-sum” game
08:20 Bill Clinton’s first meeting with Jiang Zemin
12:24 Cold War comparisons
18:25 Growing up in Singapore in the 1950s
20:20 "My mother never cracked”
26:05 “China has become a tiger”
30:46 US war is a “gift” to China