Key facts
- US-China strategic competition is underway in military, economic, trade, investment, technology, foreign policy, and ideology.
- Rudd described China's economic model as having undergone fundamental changes since 2017.
- The shift marked a departure from Deng Xiaoping's 35-year economic strategy.
Kevin Rudd, president of the Asia Society and former Australian prime minister, stated that the strategic competition between the US and China is full-blown and multidimensional. Speaking at a Harvard Kennedy School event on Friday, Rudd elaborated that this competition spans military, economic, trade, investment, technology, foreign policy, and ideological spheres across the globe. Rudd also addressed a Princeton University symposium on October 4, 2026, where he discussed the nature of China's domestic economic model and the reactions it has generated globally. He highlighted that Xi Jinping's economic strategy, implemented since the 19th Party Congress in 2017, represented a fundamental shift from the previous 35 years of reform and opening initiated by Deng Xiaoping.