David Rennie
@dsorennie.bsky.social
Geopolitics Editor, author of The Telegram column, The Economist. Previously posted to Beijing, Washington, London, Brussels, Washington, Beijing, Sydney.
Just spent week in Beijing talking to officials, scholars. Their msg: 2nd term Trump=opportunity for China. He’s not ideological, sees Xi as a peer, bungled his trade war and can stare down DC China hawks. But he’s unreliable, so a debate on how to use him.
economist.com/internationa...
economist.com/internationa...
Beijing insiders’ plan to play Donald Trump
They see America’s president as a golden opportunity for China
economist.com
November 12, 2025 at 8:53 AM
Just spent week in Beijing talking to officials, scholars. Their msg: 2nd term Trump=opportunity for China. He’s not ideological, sees Xi as a peer, bungled his trade war and can stare down DC China hawks. But he’s unreliable, so a debate on how to use him.
economist.com/internationa...
economist.com/internationa...
Reposted by David Rennie
It's time to start to thinking about Christmas presents, isn't it?
I have an idea, that costs just £22 a month. 📰
subscribenow.economist.com
I have an idea, that costs just £22 a month. 📰
subscribenow.economist.com
a little boy is sitting in front of a pile of christmas presents and a stuffed animal .
ALT: a little boy is sitting in front of a pile of christmas presents and a stuffed animal .
media.tenor.com
November 6, 2025 at 9:51 AM
It's time to start to thinking about Christmas presents, isn't it?
I have an idea, that costs just £22 a month. 📰
subscribenow.economist.com
I have an idea, that costs just £22 a month. 📰
subscribenow.economist.com
Hong Kong’s plan to prove that a dynamic financial hub and “world city” does not have to hew to Western liberal values. My column, The Telegram, reported from HK
economist.com/internationa...
from The Economist
economist.com/internationa...
from The Economist
China places a Hong Kong-sized bet on Western decline
The territory aims to prove that a non-free society can be a global financial hub
economist.com
November 5, 2025 at 5:14 AM
Hong Kong’s plan to prove that a dynamic financial hub and “world city” does not have to hew to Western liberal values. My column, The Telegram, reported from HK
economist.com/internationa...
from The Economist
economist.com/internationa...
from The Economist
Like it or not, Donald Trump is being rewarded for trade bullying-foreign firms are increasing investments in the U.S. and Canada’s PM just apologised for an anti-tariff TV ad. But long-term, America is weakening its hold on industries of future. My column, The Telegram
economist.com/internationa...
economist.com/internationa...
Donald Trump’s trade power is vast, but self-defeating
The view from Canada, as Trumpian threats fly
economist.com
November 1, 2025 at 11:28 AM
Like it or not, Donald Trump is being rewarded for trade bullying-foreign firms are increasing investments in the U.S. and Canada’s PM just apologised for an anti-tariff TV ad. But long-term, America is weakening its hold on industries of future. My column, The Telegram
economist.com/internationa...
economist.com/internationa...
Reposted by David Rennie
Strong interview by @dsorennie.bsky.social on Europe's survival in a world of strongmen. Frank on China ("key enabler in Ukraine") and likewise (!) on EU member states (without unity EU's growing toolkit has little worth). The partnership-strategy invites more probing-e.g. what's in it for others?
Her uncompromising stances on Russia and China have ruffled feathers in some European capitals. But “Europe’s new iron lady” remains unfazed.
@dsorennie.bsky.social sits down with @kajakallas.bsky.social in the first episode of Inside Geopolitics, streaming at 6pm London time
@dsorennie.bsky.social sits down with @kajakallas.bsky.social in the first episode of Inside Geopolitics, streaming at 6pm London time
Kaja Kallas, the EU’s top diplomat, on Europe in an era of strongmen | The Economist Insider
Kaja Kallas’s uncompromising stances on Russia and China have ruffled feathers in some European capitals. But “Europe’s new iron lady” remains unfazed. In the first episode of Inside Geopolitics David Rennie, our geopolitics editor, talks to the diplomat about how Europe has been changed by the war in Ukraine, whether to believe Vladimir Putin’s stated ambitions and why Donald Trump’s America is better than Europe at turning economic power into geopolitical clout.
Ms Kallas is the vice-president of the European Commission and served as Estonia’s first female prime minister from 2021 to 2024.
econ.st
October 29, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Strong interview by @dsorennie.bsky.social on Europe's survival in a world of strongmen. Frank on China ("key enabler in Ukraine") and likewise (!) on EU member states (without unity EU's growing toolkit has little worth). The partnership-strategy invites more probing-e.g. what's in it for others?
Reposted by David Rennie
Her uncompromising stances on Russia and China have ruffled feathers in some European capitals. But “Europe’s new iron lady” remains unfazed.
@dsorennie.bsky.social sits down with @kajakallas.bsky.social in the first episode of Inside Geopolitics, streaming at 6pm London time
@dsorennie.bsky.social sits down with @kajakallas.bsky.social in the first episode of Inside Geopolitics, streaming at 6pm London time
Kaja Kallas, the EU’s top diplomat, on Europe in an era of strongmen | The Economist Insider
Kaja Kallas’s uncompromising stances on Russia and China have ruffled feathers in some European capitals. But “Europe’s new iron lady” remains unfazed. In the first episode of Inside Geopolitics David Rennie, our geopolitics editor, talks to the diplomat about how Europe has been changed by the war in Ukraine, whether to believe Vladimir Putin’s stated ambitions and why Donald Trump’s America is better than Europe at turning economic power into geopolitical clout.
Ms Kallas is the vice-president of the European Commission and served as Estonia’s first female prime minister from 2021 to 2024.
econ.st
October 28, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Her uncompromising stances on Russia and China have ruffled feathers in some European capitals. But “Europe’s new iron lady” remains unfazed.
@dsorennie.bsky.social sits down with @kajakallas.bsky.social in the first episode of Inside Geopolitics, streaming at 6pm London time
@dsorennie.bsky.social sits down with @kajakallas.bsky.social in the first episode of Inside Geopolitics, streaming at 6pm London time
Reposted by David Rennie
“Europe’s new iron lady”, @kajakallas.bsky.social, joins @dsorennie.bsky.social to discuss the continent in an era of strongmen. Watch the first episode of Inside Geopolitics now
Kaja Kallas, the EU’s top diplomat, on Europe in an era of strongmen | The Economist Insider
Kaja Kallas’s uncompromising stances on Russia and China have ruffled feathers in some European capitals. But “Europe’s new iron lady” remains unfazed. In the first episode of Inside Geopolitics David Rennie, our geopolitics editor, talks to the diplomat about how Europe has been changed by the war in Ukraine, whether to believe Vladimir Putin’s stated ambitions and why Donald Trump’s America is better than Europe at turning economic power into geopolitical clout.
Ms Kallas is the vice-president of the European Commission and served as Estonia’s first female prime minister from 2021 to 2024.
econ.st
October 28, 2025 at 6:00 PM
“Europe’s new iron lady”, @kajakallas.bsky.social, joins @dsorennie.bsky.social to discuss the continent in an era of strongmen. Watch the first episode of Inside Geopolitics now
Reposted by David Rennie
As old diplomatic frameworks buckle and new global rules emerge, Inside Geopolitics brings clarity to the chaos. @dsorennie.bsky.social, our geopolitics editor, hosts discussions with leading policymakers and distinguished scholars
Introducing Insider by The Economist | The Economist
Exclusive shows with our editors and global experts. Get the inside view on the AI revolution, the Russia-Ukraine war and the forces reshaping the world economy.
econ.st
October 26, 2025 at 7:00 PM
As old diplomatic frameworks buckle and new global rules emerge, Inside Geopolitics brings clarity to the chaos. @dsorennie.bsky.social, our geopolitics editor, hosts discussions with leading policymakers and distinguished scholars
Reposted by David Rennie
A period of pre-war. Good column on the mood in Brussels today by @dsorennie.bsky.social.
Sober realism plus a readiness to break taboos. But the politics of it all remains tricky and money is tight. And there isn’t much time…
Sober realism plus a readiness to break taboos. But the politics of it all remains tricky and money is tight. And there isn’t much time…
Turbulent times are generating hard-headed politics in the EU and NATO. My column, The Telegram, reports on a strikingly serious and grimly realistic mood in Brussels, an international capital wrestling with an age of strongmen.
economist.com/internationa...
from The Economist
economist.com/internationa...
from The Economist
Brussels feels like a city preparing for war
Europe readies itself to survive in a world of hostile strongmen
economist.com
October 22, 2025 at 9:40 PM
A period of pre-war. Good column on the mood in Brussels today by @dsorennie.bsky.social.
Sober realism plus a readiness to break taboos. But the politics of it all remains tricky and money is tight. And there isn’t much time…
Sober realism plus a readiness to break taboos. But the politics of it all remains tricky and money is tight. And there isn’t much time…
Turbulent times are generating hard-headed politics in the EU and NATO. My column, The Telegram, reports on a strikingly serious and grimly realistic mood in Brussels, an international capital wrestling with an age of strongmen.
economist.com/internationa...
from The Economist
economist.com/internationa...
from The Economist
Brussels feels like a city preparing for war
Europe readies itself to survive in a world of hostile strongmen
economist.com
October 22, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Turbulent times are generating hard-headed politics in the EU and NATO. My column, The Telegram, reports on a strikingly serious and grimly realistic mood in Brussels, an international capital wrestling with an age of strongmen.
economist.com/internationa...
from The Economist
economist.com/internationa...
from The Economist
As the US-China trade war roars back to life, the tariffs and disruptive export controls threatened by the two superpowers send a bleak message. America and China would rather be dominant than trusted as reliable trade partners. My column, The Telegram
economist.com/internationa...
economist.com/internationa...
China tries shock-and-awe on Donald Trump
Xi Jinping’s bet that dramatic escalation is the way to win a trade war
economist.com
October 13, 2025 at 6:43 AM
As the US-China trade war roars back to life, the tariffs and disruptive export controls threatened by the two superpowers send a bleak message. America and China would rather be dominant than trusted as reliable trade partners. My column, The Telegram
economist.com/internationa...
economist.com/internationa...
It’s a familiar/fair charge that many European govts spent little on defence, free-riding on US security. Lots also have the wrong sort of armed forces: expeditionary forces to fight alongside USA & peacekeepers. Now they must build homeland defences 1/2
economist.com/internationa...
economist.com/internationa...
Europe struggles to put homeland defence first
Years of expeditionary operations leave it vulnerable if America abandons the continent
economist.com
October 8, 2025 at 4:09 PM
It’s a familiar/fair charge that many European govts spent little on defence, free-riding on US security. Lots also have the wrong sort of armed forces: expeditionary forces to fight alongside USA & peacekeepers. Now they must build homeland defences 1/2
economist.com/internationa...
economist.com/internationa...
Governments across the West are digging out Cold War manuals on escalation management and deterrence, as they navigate a world of ambiguous threats and reckless adversaries. My column, The Telegram. Can the West survive an age of brinkmanship?
economist.com/internationa...
from The Economist
economist.com/internationa...
from The Economist
Can the West survive an age of brinkmanship?
It is time to relearn the cold-war arts of escalation management
economist.com
October 1, 2025 at 9:57 AM
Governments across the West are digging out Cold War manuals on escalation management and deterrence, as they navigate a world of ambiguous threats and reckless adversaries. My column, The Telegram. Can the West survive an age of brinkmanship?
economist.com/internationa...
from The Economist
economist.com/internationa...
from The Economist
China now accounts for 30% of all global manufacturing, or more than America, Germany, Japan and South Korea put together. A record surge of exports is alarming foreign rivals and governments. My column, The Telegram, on the juggernaut Trump can’t stop economist.com/internationa...
A Made-in-China plan for world domination
Donald Trump is failing to stop China’s rise as a manufacturing superpower
economist.com
September 23, 2025 at 11:00 PM
China now accounts for 30% of all global manufacturing, or more than America, Germany, Japan and South Korea put together. A record surge of exports is alarming foreign rivals and governments. My column, The Telegram, on the juggernaut Trump can’t stop economist.com/internationa...
The U.S.-led West is struggling to deter China, Russia and other powers. Allies’ dwindling trust in America is one reason, but not the only one. My column, The Telegram
economist.com/internationa...
from The Economist
economist.com/internationa...
from The Economist
Cold war deterrence doesn’t work any more
Why the West is finding it so hard to deter China and Russia
economist.com
September 16, 2025 at 9:59 PM
The U.S.-led West is struggling to deter China, Russia and other powers. Allies’ dwindling trust in America is one reason, but not the only one. My column, The Telegram
economist.com/internationa...
from The Economist
economist.com/internationa...
from The Economist
Reposted by David Rennie
Interesting lessons from the Korean War for current 🇷🇺🇺🇦 conflict but I think the parallels with Dayton 🇧🇦 90's peace talks are most pertinent in this pragmatic #telegram from @dsorennie.bsky.social Continuation of the conflict: 'peace by other means' neatly sums it up.
Telling detail in @dsorennie.bsky.social’s
column. “Fully 45% of American casualties [in the Korean war] occurred after talks began. Veterans recalled deadly night-time skirmishes on hills overlooking the floodlit negotiation compound.” www.economist.com/internationa...
column. “Fully 45% of American casualties [in the Korean war] occurred after talks began. Veterans recalled deadly night-time skirmishes on hills overlooking the floodlit negotiation compound.” www.economist.com/internationa...
The wrong way to end a war
Dark lessons from history that explain Vladimir Putin’s “peacemaking”
www.economist.com
September 15, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Interesting lessons from the Korean War for current 🇷🇺🇺🇦 conflict but I think the parallels with Dayton 🇧🇦 90's peace talks are most pertinent in this pragmatic #telegram from @dsorennie.bsky.social Continuation of the conflict: 'peace by other means' neatly sums it up.
Polls show Trump is unpopular in most of Europe and the rich world. Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, is positioning himself as leader of the anti-Trump progressive resistance. That’s not translating into greater international clout: why?
My column, The Telegram economist.com/internationa...
My column, The Telegram economist.com/internationa...
Meet the leader of Europe’s anti-Trump resistance
For Spain’s leader, Pedro Sánchez, opposing Trump is a lonely endeavour
economist.com
September 10, 2025 at 9:39 AM
Polls show Trump is unpopular in most of Europe and the rich world. Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, is positioning himself as leader of the anti-Trump progressive resistance. That’s not translating into greater international clout: why?
My column, The Telegram economist.com/internationa...
My column, The Telegram economist.com/internationa...
Alongside the tech race for AI leadership there’s a global contest underway to set rules for AI governance. For all the Western predictions that Chinese AI will be hobbled by censorship and political control, China thinks its model has wide appeal
economist.com/internationa...
from The Economist
economist.com/internationa...
from The Economist
Who is winning in AI—China or America?
China offers the world a values-free, results-based vision of AI governance
economist.com
September 3, 2025 at 6:55 AM
Alongside the tech race for AI leadership there’s a global contest underway to set rules for AI governance. For all the Western predictions that Chinese AI will be hobbled by censorship and political control, China thinks its model has wide appeal
economist.com/internationa...
from The Economist
economist.com/internationa...
from The Economist
Reposted by David Rennie
Telling detail in @dsorennie.bsky.social’s
column. “Fully 45% of American casualties [in the Korean war] occurred after talks began. Veterans recalled deadly night-time skirmishes on hills overlooking the floodlit negotiation compound.” www.economist.com/internationa...
column. “Fully 45% of American casualties [in the Korean war] occurred after talks began. Veterans recalled deadly night-time skirmishes on hills overlooking the floodlit negotiation compound.” www.economist.com/internationa...
The wrong way to end a war
Dark lessons from history that explain Vladimir Putin’s “peacemaking”
www.economist.com
August 26, 2025 at 11:41 PM
Telling detail in @dsorennie.bsky.social’s
column. “Fully 45% of American casualties [in the Korean war] occurred after talks began. Veterans recalled deadly night-time skirmishes on hills overlooking the floodlit negotiation compound.” www.economist.com/internationa...
column. “Fully 45% of American casualties [in the Korean war] occurred after talks began. Veterans recalled deadly night-time skirmishes on hills overlooking the floodlit negotiation compound.” www.economist.com/internationa...
Ending conflicts is hard, especially when belligerents use a peace process to advance war aims by other means. My column, The Telegram, on historical lessons from Korea and Bosnia for the Ukraine war - and how Putin grasps them better than Trump
economist.com/internationa...
from The Economist
economist.com/internationa...
from The Economist
The wrong way to end a war
Dark lessons from history that explain Vladimir Putin’s “peacemaking”
economist.com
August 27, 2025 at 11:43 AM
Ending conflicts is hard, especially when belligerents use a peace process to advance war aims by other means. My column, The Telegram, on historical lessons from Korea and Bosnia for the Ukraine war - and how Putin grasps them better than Trump
economist.com/internationa...
from The Economist
economist.com/internationa...
from The Economist
Reposted by David Rennie
José Ignacio Torreblanca, Senior Policy Fellow and Head of ECFR's Madrid Office, on the challenges Europe faces in protecting its democracy and markets from external influences at this year's Annual Council Meeting #ACM25
🔗 https://bit.ly/4fIuDW5
🔗 https://bit.ly/4fIuDW5
August 23, 2025 at 7:00 PM
José Ignacio Torreblanca, Senior Policy Fellow and Head of ECFR's Madrid Office, on the challenges Europe faces in protecting its democracy and markets from external influences at this year's Annual Council Meeting #ACM25
🔗 https://bit.ly/4fIuDW5
🔗 https://bit.ly/4fIuDW5
Reposted by David Rennie
“Some of the clearest thinking about this swot’s predicament can be heard in Singapore, a paternalist city-state that has risen from poverty to great wealth with the help of hard work, diligence and lots of rules about civilised behaviour—like a giant prep school with its own army and airport.”
Singapore is the model pupil of the world economy. It grew rich by studying hard, doing its homework and riding the wave of late 20C globalisation. Now it fears a global economy where FDI and trade flows follow politics and tariffs set by Trumpian caprice. My column
economist.com/internationa...
economist.com/internationa...
Was globalisation ever a meritocracy?
The Trumpian assault on globalism, as seen from Singapore
economist.com
August 20, 2025 at 10:08 AM
“Some of the clearest thinking about this swot’s predicament can be heard in Singapore, a paternalist city-state that has risen from poverty to great wealth with the help of hard work, diligence and lots of rules about civilised behaviour—like a giant prep school with its own army and airport.”
Singapore is the model pupil of the world economy. It grew rich by studying hard, doing its homework and riding the wave of late 20C globalisation. Now it fears a global economy where FDI and trade flows follow politics and tariffs set by Trumpian caprice. My column
economist.com/internationa...
economist.com/internationa...
Was globalisation ever a meritocracy?
The Trumpian assault on globalism, as seen from Singapore
economist.com
August 19, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Singapore is the model pupil of the world economy. It grew rich by studying hard, doing its homework and riding the wave of late 20C globalisation. Now it fears a global economy where FDI and trade flows follow politics and tariffs set by Trumpian caprice. My column
economist.com/internationa...
economist.com/internationa...
Reposted by David Rennie
Delighted #TheRuleofLaws gets a mention in The Economist though the laws of war don’t feature highly. Tricky subject!
With nods to Grotius, earning his second mention in The Telegram, and to a fine book on the 4,000 year history of legal codes by Prof @fernandapirie.bsky.social profilebooks.com/work/the-rul...
The Rule of Laws - Profile Books
profilebooks.com
August 6, 2025 at 8:26 PM
Delighted #TheRuleofLaws gets a mention in The Economist though the laws of war don’t feature highly. Tricky subject!
The post-1945 liberal order is crumbling. Time to study the long history of laws regulating war for alternatives that might work. My column, The Telegram
economist.com/internationa...
from The Economist
economist.com/internationa...
from The Economist
How to write laws of war for a wicked world
The post-1945 order is crumbling. History offers a glimpse of alternatives that might work
economist.com
August 6, 2025 at 1:53 PM
The post-1945 liberal order is crumbling. Time to study the long history of laws regulating war for alternatives that might work. My column, The Telegram
economist.com/internationa...
from The Economist
economist.com/internationa...
from The Economist