The world is about to face global geopolitical changes and transition to multipolarity, while the era of Western dominance is about to end, said Tony Blair, who served as the prime minister of the United Kingdom in 1997-2007.
"The biggest geopolitical change of this century will come from China not Russia. We are coming to the end of Western political and economic dominance. The world is going to be at least bi-polar and possibly multi-polar," he said in his speech at the Ditchley Annual Lecture. "It is the first time in modern history that the East can be on equal terms with the West."
According to Blair, China "is already the world’s second superpower," while its economic potential and role in the global economy exceed that of Russia. Moreover, "China has now caught up America in many fields of technology and could surpass it in others," he added.
In his opinion, the Chinese leadership's policies are becoming more and more aggressive. Beijing makes no secret of its ‘disdain’ for the West and moves towards stronger ties with Russia, the former premier said.
"Don't misunderstand me. I am not saying in the near term that China would attempt to take Taiwan by force," Blair continued. "But we can't base our policy on the certainty that it wouldn't."
He believes that Russia and possibly Iran were likely to become China’s allies in the near future.
The former UK premier said the Western policy towards China should be based on what he described as "strength plus engagement.".
