US Retreats From Global Dominance: is China Ready to Lead?

WHO:

South China Morning Post - Da Wei, director of Tsinghua University’s Centre for International Security and Strategy, is a prominent Chinese foreign policy expert.

WHAT:

South China Morning Post - Da Wei stated, “I believe America’s global institutional hegemony is coming to an end.”

South China Morning Post - Da Wei noted that the demise of US hegemony was unlikely to be reversed.

South China Morning Post - The US became the world’s largest economy in the late 19th century and took over 50 years to assume global leadership.

South China Morning Post - Since Donald Trump’s first presidential term, Washington’s “table-flipping” diplomacy signaled that the US no longer wished to sustain the global structure.

WHERE:

South China Morning Post - Da Wei made his statements at a public seminar at Renmin University of China in Beijing.

WHY:

South China Morning Post - Da Wei explained that the world is rethinking liberalism, which is the foundation of US hegemony, and is moving towards nationalism and realism instead.

South China Morning Post - Da Wei emphasized that the execution of US leadership has shifted from an institutional focus to one that prioritizes coercion and transaction.

HOW:

South China Morning Post - Beijing is forging an alternative path rooted in sovereign equality and multilateralism, rather than a quest for global dominance.

(UPDATED June 21, 2026 13:29 UTC)

Da Wei, a prominent Chinese foreign policy expert and director of Tsinghua University’s Centre for International Security and Strategy, recently stated at a public seminar in Beijing that he believes America’s global institutional hegemony is coming to an end and is unlikely to be reversed. He explained that the world is rethinking liberalism, which has been the foundation of US hegemony, and is shifting towards nationalism and realism, while emphasizing that US leadership has moved from an institutional focus to one that prioritizes coercion and transaction. Meanwhile, Beijing is forging an alternative path rooted in sovereign equality and multilateralism, rather than pursuing global dominance.