Reference News Network, January 17 report: On October 2, 2022, at the Valdai International Club plenary meeting, Russian President Putin used a proverb to describe the West's attempts to maintain its hegemony in today's world. "There is no other lever but another lever to deal with a lever." It is well known that levers are generally used as tools for destruction rather than construction.

But in early 2026, the lever again became a universal tool of U.S. foreign policy. It turned out that former U.S. President Trump applied this tool with "creativity," and the international community, panicked, retreated helplessly under his offensive.

Venezuela is experiencing this: after forcibly controlling the legitimate president Maduro, the U.S. leadership handed over the future leadership of Venezuela to itself, while demanding Caracas immediately cut all relations with traditional oil partners and establish exclusive relations with Washington.

The same applies to Greenland: Trump believes that the island will inevitably become part of the United States in the near future, even if it means using U.S. military force and completely undermining the unity of the transatlantic alliance.

Iran also faces the same situation: the White House threatened that if the internal situation in Iran deteriorates further, the U.S. would launch a new missile attack on Iran. Countries that continue to cooperate with Iran will be punished immediately - their goods exported to the U.S. will be subject to a 25% tariff.

Trump passionately waved the lever, breaking the ice that had begun to melt from the old world order. The ice scattered around the world, causing everyone's anxiety, dissatisfaction, and fear.

Arbitrary behavior and lawlessness have intoxicated the United States and given rise to a false sense of omnipotence. Trump has declared that his freedom to interfere in international affairs is only limited by his own morality.

However, any action necessarily breeds counteraction. Therefore, the "other lever" mentioned by Putin will eventually be found. A country that accounts for only a quarter of the world's nominal GDP (only 15% according to purchasing power parity) cannot unilaterally decide the rules of the international system. This means that in the face of the U.S. lever, Russia will more actively and firmly strengthen its comprehensive strategic partnership with China. Europe will be forced to revive the fading concept of "strategic autonomy" and accelerate the development of its own military forces.

Openly rogue international behavior by the United States will eventually be restrained. Even the strongest country, if determined to confront the entire world with a lever, will not be able to escape unscathed.

But reducing world politics to a competition of who has a heavier or more convenient lever is biased. Levers are not the only tool the international community has. To build a new world order, what is needed is not a lever, but a mason's trowel. Therefore, new forms of international cooperation are now significant. These forms include multilateral mechanisms such as the BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, new financial settlement mechanisms, alternative investment financial institutions, and international collaborative governance mechanisms for artificial intelligence.

These cooperation mechanisms do not necessarily target the United States directly, but must fill the gaps in the controllability of the international system left by Trump. (Translated by Li Ran)

Original: toutiao.com/article/7596291506512691747/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author themselves.