International consensus?

[sky753]

Hello Everyone,

What does the underlined mean in the following sentence?

Isolation of China would make China less, not mote, likely to play by the rules of international conduct and to be a part of an emerging international consensus.

Regards

Sky

[nonsense]

Well, "consensus" means agreement, and "emerging" means to come out from someplace. The suggestion is that the international community (nations and people all around the world) are beginning to agree on some issues, like the rules of international conduct. The agreement isn't yet complete or solidified, so it is still "emerging" or rising out of the broader pool of conflicting opinions. If China is excluded from international debate and discussions, they are less likely to agree with rules or other international standards and expectations that they had no part in shaping.

[Anglika]

"consensus" is more like "group agreement" = everyone holds the same opinion.