THE BEIJING VARIABLE: US-China Competition and the Next World Order: A View from Southeast Asia

Abstract

Two superpowers. One collision course. And a question no one can answer with certainty: what does Beijing really want?When President Trump and Xi Jinping meet in 2026, the world watches for signals of war or peace. But the deeper story is not a single summit. It is the Beijing Variable: the persistent uncertainty at the core of China's rise that defies every confident forecast and reshapes the future of global power.In this bold and far-reaching analysis, Kamaruzzaman Bustamam Ahmad takes you beyond the usual Washington-versus-Beijing headlines to a vantage point most Western commentators overlook: Southeast Asia, the frontline of the twenty-first century's defining rivalry. From the trade war and the battle for semiconductors to Taiwan, the South China Sea, the technology cold war, the scramble for the Global South, and the fragile balance of finance, energy, and military power, this book maps the full architecture of a contest that will decide the next world order.Sharp, provocative, and grounded in a distinctly Asian perspective, THE BEIJING VARIABLE cuts through propaganda and wishful thinking to ask the hard questions: Is American primacy over? Can the two giants avoid catastrophe? And where do smaller nations, caught between the elephants, actually stand?This is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the forces driving our century, from students of geopolitics and international relations to policymakers, business leaders, and citizens who refuse to be blindsided by the most consequential rivalry of our time.The competition has already begun. Understand it before the outcome is decided.