As US President Donald Trump announces plans to withdraw from various international organizations and agreements, China is positioning itself as a global leader and seizing the opportunity to fill a void left by the United States on the world stage, analysts say.
On his first day in office after Monday’s inauguration, Trump signed executive orders that began the process of withdrawing from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, as he did in his first term.
The Republican president’s moves call into question the future of global public health measures and climate goals and leave a leadership vacuum that China could seek to fill.
“This creates the potential for China to further strengthen its influence in the world’s multilateral institutions and help govern the world,” said Gregory Chin, an associate professor of political economy at York University in Toronto.
In fact, China already seems to be sending these signals.
China’s embassies
In what could be described as a strategically planned meeting, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke via video just hours after Trump’s inauguration, underscoring their continued alliance.
“I stand ready to work with you to continue to take China-Russia relations to a new height in 2025 and respond to external uncertainties,” Xi reportedly told Putin.
The Chinese leader said he wanted to “uphold international fairness and justice.”
At the same time, Chinese officials reiterated that message on Tuesday at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, emphasizing the country’s commitment to fighting climate change.
“China has always been a strong supporter of true multilateralism,” said Vice Premier Ding
Regarding “peace and security,” Ding said that “China has the best record among the world’s major powers.”
Also on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun reiterated China’s concerns about the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement at a news conference in Beijing.
“Climate change is a common challenge for all humanity,” he said. “China’s determination and measures to actively respond to climate change are consistent.”
During Trump’s first term, the US also withdrew from several international agreements, including the Paris Climate Agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the United Nations Human Rights Council.
It seems that he continues on the same path.
When Trump won the presidential election in November over Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice-president, Jia Wang, senior fellow and senior advisor at the China Institute at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, said told CBC News that China could capitalize on this on the situation.
“China could use this opportunity to make more friends or at least reduce rivals and enemies,” she said.
The costs of development
As the US turns inward and the new president announces the beginning of America’s “golden age” and the end of its “decline,” China is holding its ground.
“The Trump administration may inadvertently weaken America’s positioning in the world relative to China,” said York University’s Chin.
At least on the climate front China is positioning itself as a green pioneer For years, the company has taken initiatives aimed at achieving its goal of carbon neutrality by 2060 – including investments in renewable energy and global leadership in electric vehicles and batteries. This is despite the fact that the country is still the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases and is responsible for a third of global emissions.
But this positioning, strategic as it may be, comes from necessity, said Yongjing Zhang, an associate professor of economics and politics at the University of Ottawa.
“China really cares about climate change,” Zhang said, adding that the country is now suffering the “cost” of its rapid development. “No matter what happens to other countries, China will take care of it.”
Simply put, it has no choice.
Global health security
On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo also expressed strong support for the World Health Organization following Trump’s announcement, saying China will “as always support the WHO in fulfilling its duty and deepen international cooperation in public health.”
Trump accused the institution, a United Nations agency, of bias against China and criticized its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic – as he did during his first term in office, when he also tried to appoint the American Joe Biden, who would succeed him Trump moved to withdraw when he became president after his first term, but he later reversed the decision.
However, despite its messaging, China’s future role in health is more unclear. The USA is by far the agency’s largest donor, This accounts for around 18 percent of the total funding. The WHO’s most recent budget for 2024-25 was $6.8 billion.
It is currently unclear how this financial gap will be closed, as experts have warned that the move could weaken global public health security – and weaken the world’s defenses against future pandemics and infectious diseases.
Being allies “means nothing now”
What is emerging in the first days of Trump’s presidency are signs that, given his unpredictability, American allies are increasingly concerned about what a more assertive Trump would mean in his second term.
“You have to throw away the terms of friendship and allyship,” said Lynette Ong, a distinguished professor of Chinese politics at the University of Toronto. “That doesn’t mean anything now.”
Ong said that while China could certainly prevail, she would like to see more evidence that the country is putting its money where its mouth is.
But York University’s Chin said U.S. isolationism will ultimately mean other countries will face a choice in the alliance system.
“It’s about choosing between a rapprochement with America and a range of multipolar options,” he said.
Those options, Chin said, could include BRICS countrieswhich include China and Russia.
According to several US reports, US President Donald Trump will not impose the promised tariffs against Canada, Mexico or China on his first day in office, giving that country a reprieve of sorts, at least for now.
“If you are in the West, you might see this as a threat to the so-called rules-based international order,” he said. “But if you live in the rest of the world, you might say that some of these changes could actually be improvements.”
As Trump threatens countries with higher tariffs Like China, Canada and Mexico, China this month cut tariffs on hundreds of goods entering the country. And whatever the motivation, Chin suspects that this could just be a reason why other nations might strengthen their ties with the country while the US distances itself.
