What stood out to me at the UNGA was the speech by French President Macron. He complained about American games with the Iran sanctions, repeated the EU call for an investigative mission to Xinjiang, but most of all indicated that the US and China should stop blocking up the UN Security Council with their struggles and not drag down the whole world in their fight.

Trump’s boastful, aggressive speech will probably convince no one. But Xi Jinping’s speech was also a bit too much sunshine compared to the growing global wariness about China. People keep talking about a New Cold War, but that presupposes there will be two camps. Do not forget that outside of Europe not everyone wanted to join the Old Cold War.

Similarly, with the current leadership in Washington DC and Beijing, I have a feeling that most of the world simply wants to stay out of the US-China struggle. Neither side is very attractive, though benefits are to be had from each. Trump and Xi indeed lead big countries, but before they make more boastful speeches to the world, they need to realise that the more nationalist they are, the more the rest of the world will simply seek to live on around them.