THE PRIME BRIEF - WRITING THE GLOBAL RULES

Europe’s regulatory empire vs. China’s state coordination—and what it means for you.

The EU is more powerful than you realize, and so is China.

For nearly eighty years, America wrote the rules on trade, finance, and technology. Even the shape of your phone charger. That power is gone.

Now Europe is building a rulebook of its own, one every company has to follow and one that reaches into your daily life. Europe’s power comes not from tanks or bombs, but from rules.

China’s power comes not from its military or laws, but from ports, roads, and power grids through scale and control. Previously, America was the one to turn to finance infrastructure and move an economy forward. Now China is financing and building the next century.

We are seeing two powers rising that will determine how the world works. And for the first time in history, the two powers are not necessarily competing with each other. Nations can have Chinese infrastructure and EU standards. Maybe these two powers will even work together!

And here is where we bring it all together. This week’s Future Brief on Who Writes the Rules After America, the Borrell profile, and the Core Brief on EU culture. If you’ve read those briefs, this is the synthesis. If you haven’t, this is the one worth subscribing to.