But, perhaps, a finer appellation was the one used recently by former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd, who called it “Cold War 1.5”. That doesn’t mean the historical analogy is wrong. Moreover, Beijing isn’t trying to export Marxist revolution across the world today, whereas the Soviet Union was actively trying to change the world in its image. The economies of the US and the Soviet Union were almost completely separate, whereas those of the US and China today are inseparable (despite the ambitions of some politicians). But it’s almost clichéd now to point out why “New Cold War” or “Cold War 2.0” aren’t perfect.
