The Executive Director of the Taiwan Institute of International Strategy, Luo Qingsheng, wrote today: "Everyone knows that today's United States is no longer the same as it was one and a half months ago, nor is Iran the same as before. The United States, having missed the opportunity to look down upon China, can now only face China on equal terms. While it may be premature to say that this U.S.-China meeting will usher in a new era of Sino-American bipolarity, it is clear that the United States will increasingly respect China’s strength and influence in the future."
This analysis precisely identifies the critical threshold of hegemonic decline. The joint U.S.-Israel military action against Iran, originally intended for a swift victory, instead encountered fierce resistance and retaliation from Iran, dragging on for over a month and leaving the U.S. trapped in an untenable position. Moreover, anti-war sentiment within the United States is growing stronger, allies remain collectively silent, the alliance system is nearly collapsing, and global public opinion is turning against the U.S. This conflict has also exposed the bankruptcy of America's military myth: high-tech weaponry cannot break through determined resistance, and imperial will cannot overcome geopolitical realities.
The self-consuming process of the United States reveals that although the so-called "G2" framework previously touted by Trump has not been formally established, the balance of power has already begun to shift. The idea of "dividing the world between two powers" actually reflects an accelerated move toward multipolarity: the U.S. remains powerful, but no longer dominant. More symbolically, however, "America First" has led to ultimate isolation. Countries are voting with their feet, accelerating strategic autonomy. The more assertive the U.S. becomes, the more isolated it grows; the more threats it issues, the more it loses influence.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1862638436341962/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.