The world is currently witnessing changes in the international relations among states. The most surprising elements are the new policies of the new US administration under Donald trump’s presidency. Recently the US President scolded the Ukrainian President in the White House and accused him of gambling with World War 3. This shift in US policies from former President Joe Biden marked an era of uncertainty in the USA’s allies, as they do not see now Washington as a reliable security and trade ally. On the other hand the other major powers such as China and Russia are gaining more advantage in the developing states because of Trump’s current focus on his America-first policy.
It is needed to focus on how US protectionism will hurt its status as a global power while other powers will try to gain more influence in the developing states. the former US administration was providing ammunition to Ukraine to defend itself against Russian aggression. The European states, mainly the European Union was also providing loans and aid to Ukraine due to US pressure and its old fear of the Russian hegemonic history of controlling Europe.
The shift in US policies of not providing more aid and ammunition to Ukraine resulted in huge concern among the EU and Britain. The USA was the state which pushed Ukraine to continue the war and not make the ceasefire deal with Russia mediated by Turkey in 2023. Now European states have to funded this Ukrainian defensive war without much of US support. This was the triggering point for European states and other world powers to evaluate their relations with the USA.
The summit held by England’s Prime minister Keir Starmer to show Europe’s position in the Russia-Ukraine war was the evidence that now European states have to evaluate their relations and pacts with the USA. This US protectionism and not showing interest in leadership position not only is concerning point for Europe but also for China and Russia. This will result in decrease of the USA’s world power status.
For China it is a big opportunity to get involved in European affairs and fill the gap which is being produced by US actions. Trump’s rhetoric of making Greenland and Canada part of US territory created political distance between America and its allies. Europe alone might not be sufficient to oppose the Russian threat as the USA is also pressurizing Europe by using Russian threat. The close cooperation in security and economic matters between China and Europe can result in the creation of new alliances and more power balance in the coming uncertain world politics.
The other allies of the USA, such as Japan, South Korea and Australia are also in a situation where they are seeing the USA turning from the promises and guarantees it made to defend its ally states. These states are evaluating their current relations with the USA and are trying to preserve their interests. The foreign ministers of China, Japan and South Korea had met to discuss matters of common interests and security issues in the East Asian region. This shows that Japan and South Korea are also watching the changes in American policies as a point of re-evaluation of their relations. The major impacts of the meetings could be security agreements among China, Japan and South Korea in the East Asian region.
The developing states are also fearing the policies of the USA because of Trump’s policies against immigration and trade practices. This highlights that the USA is trying to protect its economic interests by hurting the developing states’ economies. The USA has banned more than 50 states, fully and partially, from visiting the USA, which shows its protectionist policies. This provides a huge opportunity for China and Europe to help these developing states and create win-win economic cooperation for all parties. African states have raw resources such as lithium, gold and cobalt which are necessities for today’s world economic prosperity. China and Europe have great influence in this continent which can result in lower raw material exports to the USA, if it continues to follow the protectionist policies.
It must be acknowledged that America is the world’s largest economic and military power currently. The pursuit of America-first policies under Trump’s presidency is resulting in a backlash from the world’s other regions. The European Union and Britain are assessing Trump’s policies and trying to create policies which defend the interests of Europe against Russia and the USA. China is a bigger stakeholder in these changing dynamics because of its increasing influence in the world politics. China has to take forward steps and make policies aligning with European interests to fill the gap which is being produced by US policies. This will help China to have a larger influence in the region and can resolve the Russian-Ukraine war situation because of its relations with Russia.
