>Sir Tony Blair has warned that the era of Western political and economic dominance was coming to an end, pointing to Russia's actions in Ukraine and the rise of China as the world's "second superpower".
>Delivering the annual Ditchley lecture the former prime minister said Western powers needed to increase their defence spending to maintain their military superiority while extending their "soft power" by building ties with developing nations.
>He said Vladimir Putin's "brutal and unjustified" invasion of Ukraine showed they could no longer automatically expect major world powers to abide by accepted international norms.
>"As a result of the actions of Putin, we cannot rely on the Chinese leadership to behave in the way we would consider rational," he said.
>"Don't misunderstand me.
>"I am not saying in the near term, that China would attempt to take Taiwan by force.
>"But we can't base our policy on the certainty that it wouldn't.
>"And even leaving to the side Taiwan, the reality is China under Xi's leadership is competing for influence and doing so aggressively."
>He said the biggest geopolitical change of this century will come from China, not Russia, as he called for a strategy to counter the country's increased power.
>"We are coming to the end of Western political and economic dominance," he said.
>"The world is going to be at least bi-polar and possibly multi-polar.
>"It is the first time in modern history that the East can be on equal terms with the West."
