The reports are dire. The dollar’s days of dominance are rapidly coming to an end, thanks to U.S. economic and political dysfunction. China is plotting to displace the dollar and rallying the world around the idea that its centrality in the global financial system hurts everyone else. Even American allies are shying away from the dollar now that the United States is becoming more antagonistic toward other countries.

Is China winning the geopolitical game? The US appears isolated as President Donald Trump attacks not just rivals but long-standing allies. Trump’s boorish behaviour towards other countries allows Chinese leaders to act as the responsible adults in the room. China clearly wants to assume the mantle of being the defender of multilateralism and free trade, and the linchpin of a stable world order.

ITHACA – Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recent speech at Davos received the third standing ovation in the World Economic Forum’s history, with the previous two going to Nelson Mandela and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. It struck a chord because it clearly and unambiguously articulated a realization that is sinking in everywhere: The postwar rules-based order that ensured relative stability and facilitated the spread of prosperity is crumbling.

China’s trade surplus — the amount by which its exports exceed its imports — hit a staggering $1.19 trillion in 2025, according to official numbers released on Wednesday. The figure shows just how much China is an exporting powerhouse but is also a sign of its economic weakness and of how its practices pose a greater danger to free trade than even President Trump’s tariffs.

China’s trade surplus hit $1tn in just the first 11 months of 2025. This ought to be a warning sign to Beijing and the rest of the world. The burgeoning trade surplus dramatically illustrates China’s export prowess. Equally, though, it highlights problems with its economy and the government’s policies. Beijing’s ambitions to portray itself as the defender of the rules-based system of global trade and promote its currency’s prominence in international finance will also be thwarted by such a large surplus.