The liberal international order is not falling apart. However, one must also ask what exactly the “liberal international order” is.

China should modestly integrate itself with the existing order.

The U.S. cannot continue to think that it will define the international system. China’s rising power means a change of world order is inevitable.

China stands for multilateralism, and against Trumpism.

The UN and China should fill the vacuum the US is leaving.

But no one should be tempted by exaggerated projections of Chinese power. If the US maintains its alliances with democratic Japan and Australia and continues to develop good relations with India, it will hold the high cards in Asia. In the global military balance, China lags far behind, and in terms of demography, technology, the monetary system, and energy dependence, the US is better placed than China in the coming decade. In the Soft Power 30 index, China ranks 25th, while the US is third.

Industrial technological competition is at the center of China-US competition.

As Trump pulls the US back from the world stage, China steps up.

World order is changing fast. China and the US need to forge a closer relationship that will serve as a solid anchor for a world buffeted by strong winds and hail.

Just as changing circumstances have altered Russia’s relationship with the US, they have also altered its relationship with China.