Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers has raised the red flag after noticing that countries such as China, Russia, and the Middle East are strengthening their bond and gaining ground on the global stage. “I think [it] is a huge challenge for the United States,” he warned.

Larry Summers Talks About Nations Unifying Against the US

Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers recently issued a stern warning on Bloomberg TV Friday in regards to an increasing number of countries that are coming together and gaining more influence on the international front. The comments were made during the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Washington, D.C.

Summers is currently the Charles W. Eliot University Professor at Harvard University. He has also served as Director of the National Economic Council, Treasury Secretary of the United States, and chief economist of the World Bank.

The economist stated that a growing number of nations are standing together in opposition to the U.S., explaining:

There’s a growing acceptance of fragmentation, and — maybe even more troubling — I think there’s a growing sense that ours may not be the best fragment to be associated with.

He shared an anecdote from a developing country and said: “What we get from China is an airport. What we get from the United States is a lecture.”

Recently, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva visited China and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Lula said Saturday that Brazil’s relationship with China “is going beyond that phase of commodity” exports. He also urged other developing countries to abandon the U.S. dollar as their global reserve currency. Furthermore, China was the one who brokered the talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia, two of the major oil-producing rivals of the Middle East. Eventually, the two nations decided to restore ties and reopen embassies after seven years of severed relations.

Summers went on to discuss the growing links between the Middle East and China, and said:

I think what’s happening in the Middle East … the Chinese-brokered diplomatic relations between Saudi and Iran is a symbol of what I think is a huge challenge for the United States.

On top of that, the OPEC+ members, which include Saudi Arabia and Russia, recently agreed to cut crude oil output. OPEC+ is a coalition of 23 oil-exporting countries that meets regularly to decide how much crude oil to sell on the world market.

The former Treasury Secretary also expressed: “We are on the right side of history — with our commitment to democracy, with our resistance to aggression in Russia.” However, he added:

But it’s looking a bit lonely on the right side of history, as those who seem much less on the right side of history are increasingly banding together in a whole range of structures.

Summers concluded that the U.S. government must take the necessary action to confront this new challenge. “If the Bretton Woods system is not delivering strongly around the world, there are going to be serious challenges and proposed alternatives,” he cautioned.

Do you agree with former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers that rising ties between the Middle East, China, and Russia present a threat to the U.S.? Let us know in the comments section below.

Kevin Helms

A student of Austrian Economics, Kevin found Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests lie in Bitcoin security, open-source systems, network effects and the intersection between economics and cryptography.