China lacks will or capacity to replace US hegemony, expert says

As the United States appears to be dismantling its global hegemony, a prominent Chinese foreign policy expert suggests that China is neither willing nor capable of filling that void. Da Wei, director of Tsinghua University’s Centre for International Security and Strategy, argues that Beijing is instead forging a distinct path centered on sovereign equality and multilateralism, rather than seeking global dominance.

"I believe America’s global institutional hegemony is coming to an end," Da stated at a seminar at Renmin University of China. He believes this shift is unlikely to be reversed, as the world is increasingly questioning the foundations of U.S. hegemony, such as liberalism, and moving towards nationalism and realism.

Da explained that while the U.S. became the world's largest economy in the late 19th century, it took over 50 years to assume global leadership. Since the 1990s, the world order has largely operated within a liberal multilateral system anchored by Washington. However, Da pointed to Donald Trump's presidency and his "table-flipping" diplomacy as signals that the U.S. no longer intends to sustain this global structure.

Despite these observations, Da stressed that this does not signify a decline in U.S. national power, asserting that a "post-American era" has not yet arrived. Instead, he characterized the shift in U.S. leadership as a move away from an institutional focus towards one that prioritizes coercion and transaction.

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I believe America’s global institutional hegemony is coming to an end. It’s hard to return [to that situation] as the world is rethinking liberalism – the very foundation of US hegemony – and marching towards nationalism and realism instead.