Amid the battle of the giants, a new global order struggles to take shape | Simon Tisdall

While the US and China vie for supremacy, smaller countries, championed by Barbados PM Mia Mottley, are speaking out on key challenges of climate, poverty and migration

Competition for pole position in the race to boss the 21st century's fast-evolving new world order is hotting up. US president Joe Biden sought a winning strategic partnership with Narendra Modi's India. The EU unveiled an economic security strategy to fend off Chinese and Russian predators. In Beijing, Xi Jinping told America's top US diplomat who's in charge: China.

In Paris, meanwhile, leaders of the global north and south planned a new beginning. The aim: to deliver billions in funding, promised at last year's Cop27, to help vulnerable countries fight the climate crisis and related poverty, inequality and debt. Poorer nations urge radical reform of the global institutional framework, which they say has failed.