Russia’s military actions in Georgia – in the midst of the Games – showed the world that the concept of spheres of influence was still alive and well in the Kremlin. And the collapse the following month of the US investment bank Lehman Brothers, which unleashed a global financial crisis from which the world economy has yet to recover fully, underscored the advanced economies’ vulnerabilities, while largely sparing China.
2008年夏，三件事让这一新多极秩序显露无疑。中国举办了一届令人炫目的奥运会，强化了其作为重要国际行动方的地位。俄罗斯出兵格鲁吉亚——时间选在了奥运会期间——告诉世界势力范围的概念仍然活生生地存在于克里姆林宫。9月美国投资银行雷曼兄弟公司倒闭引发了一场全球金融危机，世界经济至今仍未从中复苏，这凸显出发达经济体的弱点，但中国基本上独善其身。