United States
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IrelandKevin Rudd sees no security substitute for America in Asia
The former Australian prime minister explains China's ambitions and defends diplomatic restraint in a fast-starting Leading interview.
The Rest Is Politics: Leading
Story of Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 223,501 views a day, 22 times a normal first day on this channel (10,247).
China & The USA: The Most Important Relationship In The World? | Kevin Rudd
Things we can learn from the video
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- 1:05Rudd says Xi's central priority is preserving Communist Party rule and avoiding the Soviet Union's fate.
- 4:00He describes Xi's shifts towards Leninist politics, Marxist economics and nationalist foreign policy.
- 26:19Taiwan's importance extends beyond TSMC's chips to the security consequences of a Chinese takeover.
- 37:52Rudd puts America ahead in AI chips and frontier models, China ahead in energy and practical deployment.
- 40:15Rudd argues that Indo-Pacific allies have no viable security alternative to the United States.
- 47:37Pressed to condemn Trump directly, Rudd defends institutional diplomacy as a way to maintain strategic stability.
Rory Stewart asks whether America's allies are pulling away from an increasingly erratic partner. Kevin Rudd's answer is practical: in the Indo-Pacific, they have no viable security alternative.
That distinction, between misgivings about Donald Trump and dependence on American power, runs through his appearance on The Rest Is Politics: Leading. The interview has reached roughly 178,000 views in its first 15 hours, far beyond the channel's usual full-day audience.
Speaking to Stewart and Alastair Campbell, Rudd describes Xi Jinping's China through three shifts: politics towards the Leninist left, economics towards the Marxist left and foreign policy towards the nationalist right. At the centre, he says, is Xi's determination to preserve Communist Party rule and avoid the Soviet Union's fate.
Rudd also separates Beijing's belief that America is declining from China's own economic difficulties. He points to weaknesses caused by renewed state control, alongside the strength of exports and a push into advanced industry.
Taiwan makes the stakes concrete. Rudd highlights both the importance of chipmaker TSMC and the consequences for regional security if China took the island. On artificial intelligence, he offers a divided picture rather than a single leader: America leads in chips and frontier models, he says, while China leads in energy and applying AI across the economy.
The episode includes a sponsored trading-platform segment.
Later, Stewart presses Rudd to condemn Trump more directly. Rudd defends diplomacy conducted through institutions to maintain strategic stability. "You're running a podcast, I'm not," he tells Stewart. After their guest leaves, the hosts return to that distinction: when does diplomatic caution protect a relationship, and when does it get in the way of speaking plainly?
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- Subscribers
- 206,000 ▲ 2,000 this week
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 872,531
- Channel views, pace per day
- 207,183 (on a normal day: 115,874)
- Video published
- November 2, 2026
- Video views so far
- 178,162 (less than a day online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 223,501
The numbers
Rudd's interview has already drawn substantially more views than a usual first day for Leading. Its comments have also passed the channel's usual full-day total.
💡 Test your knowledge
Which country did Kevin Rudd serve as prime minister?
Rudd served as Australia's prime minister before becoming a guest on Leading.