Australia's Kevin Rudd On U.S.-China Relations

NPR

Published April 20, 2015 at 12:40 PM CDT

President Obama smiles as a group of children wave flags and flowers during a welcome ceremony held by Chinese President Xi Jinping on Nov. 12, 2014. (Andy Wong/AP)

Time magazine just released its list of the 100 most influential people in the world. One of the names on the list is China’s premier Xi Jinping.

That comes as no surprise to former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who writes in Time that Xi looks like he’s on track to pass Chairman Mao as China’s most powerful leader.

But what about beyond China? What influence does Xi have on the global stage – especially with the United States?

Rudd, who is a senior fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, explores these questions and the U.S.-China relationship in a new report. He discusses his findings with Here & Now’s Lisa Mullins.

Guest

Kevin Rudd, former prime minister of Australia. He’s a senior fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He’s also president of the Asia Society Policy Institute.