If there is anything about B&R that can contribute to the future of global governance and world order, it is the inherent opportunity in that proposal to further democratize international relations and make globalization an equal, more sustainable process for sharing benefits among all nations.

Recent nationalistic trends suggest not that globalization is dead but that it has entered a new phase. It is overly simplistic to define the momentum for change as “anti-globalization”. China now needs to work harder than ever in order to optimize and even lead globalization.

If you ignore the dragon, it will eat you. If you try to confront the dragon it will overpower you. If you ride the dragon, you will take advantage of its might and power.

Economic cooperation and trade frictions will probably simultaneously increase as the new American government’s “buy American and hire American” focus as it seeks greater economic benefits with its trading partners. But there are many areas where the interests of China and the US converge, which the leaders of both countries clearly appreciate.

Major powers need to work together to push globalization forward in the right direction, with more equitable benefits for people in every country. Any action to gain geopolitical advantage at the expense of another major power will not only bring risks to global security but damage prospects for world economic growth.

It is becoming increasingly clear that over the course of the next four years, the Trump Administration is going to conduct an all-out campaign to undermine the Great-Power norms that have so far enabled peace between the U.S. and China. The result is likely to be not just instability, but a journey down the road to war.

In the long term, institutional guarantees that offer multilateral mechanisms for cooperation, development, mutual benefit and win-win, are essential for countries develop a sustainable community with a shared future, thus laying down a solid foundation for peace and development. That should be China’s message to the world, despite challenges from Trump’s expected protectionism, the weight of US national debt and anti-globalization movements.

The new president plans to combine the power of his country and his personal unpredictability to produce fear and anxiety, which he believes will lead to U.S. benefits and gains. This tactic could win in some cases in the short run, but it’s almost doomed strategically. It will not make the U.S. great again.

What we are witnessing today is not “the toss out of globalization” or “de-globalization”, but rather a new era or phase of globalization or “re-globalization” wherein greater and more complicated challenges become the order of the day. Therefore we need concerted efforts more than ever before to ascertain the big trends as well as individual difficulties and work out consensus and solutions for collective actions to “make globalization great again”. China has no option but to be in the fore front of globalization and global governance.