There’s growing speculation about a power struggle in China and whether President Xi Jinping is losing control. Amid reported internal rifts within the Communist Party of China, Xi has launched a military purge, removing several top officials, while Chinese companies face mounting internal issues. Lt Gen S. L. Narasimhan, Adjunct Distinguished at Gateway House, analyses these rumours and reveals China’s internal dynamics.

On October 22, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Russia’s oil giants, Rosneft and Lukoil. The move has clear geopolitical motives—to remove a major supplier from an oversupplied oil market. Indian oil companies, key buyers of Russian crude, now face pressure to cut imports, undermining India’s energy diversification and shaking global oil markets, including the U.S. economy.

The currents shaping the relationship between the Indo-Pacific’s two largest democracies are not trade winds but terabits flowing through fiber-optic cables and the instant signals of digital payments. Jakarta and New Delhi are forging a landmark digital alliance—one that goes beyond technology. At the heart of this digital handshake lies the plan to link Indonesia’s BI-Fast with India’s Unified Payments Interface.

U.S. President Donald Trump embarked on a five-day trip to Asia, arriving in Kuala Lumpur on October 26. Covering Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea, the visit marked a shift in focus from the Ukraine and Gaza conflicts to Southeast and East Asia, as his administration is set to finalise its China policy and Indo-Pacific strategy. The trip yielded important results, though their impact will take time to assess.

The Valdai 2025 conference’s single confirmation was this: Russia believes the post-Western world is already functioning. It is no longer seeking to re-enter Western-led institutions; it is building around them. The polycentric world is like a network, not a hierarchy. No one needs to choose a camp.

India and Indonesia sit at the heart of the Indo-Pacific, and participate  in multiple global and regional frameworks that ensure developing countries remain part of governance debates. The two countries can use these platforms to craft a southern consensus, a framework for cooperation that prioritises resilience, equality and cooperation over competition and coercion. This can reduce vulnerabilities among developing countries and strengthen them against future disruptions.

The labour movement in the India-Russia corridor is a new element in the bilateral. It is already visible in the Delhi–Moscow flights. The usual students and tourists now share the cabin with welders, salon workers, and builders, many on their first overseas assignment. The trend signals a shift in Russia’s migration geography and opens a corridor linking India’s skill base with Russia’s industrial demand.

The Quad summit is expected to be hosted by India in the second half of 2025, possibly in November. However, the grouping faces turbulence that transcends the current flow of India-U.S. relations. The relevance of Australia and Japan, too, needs to be factored in. Beijing considers the Quad as “the Asian NATO” that aims to contain China. Since the commencement of Trump 2.0, the grouping has been struggling to redefine its role and mandate.

While the Bandung Conference’s vision remains unrealised, its spirit can be an inspiration to reform and innovate in the international system as well as to ensure the survival of multilateralism – not only for today’s multi-aligned descendants of the conference participants but also for countries in Europe and beyond.

The world is facing multiple crises which are shaking the foundations of multilateralism. The West’s structures are faltering, and the need for effective and equitable cooperation is greater than ever. Seventy years after the 1955 Bandung Conference, its principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, cooperation and solidarity remain vital. This report revisits Bandung’s relevance for today’s reform efforts, urging renewed Global South–Europe collaboration for a sustainable global future.