Between American Protectionism and Chinese Expansion: Is Trump Shaping a New World Order?
U.S. President Donald Trump promised his presidency would be free of wars during his election campaign. However, once in office, he launched a wide-scale economic offensive. Though economic warfare lacks the immediate violence of military conflict, its goal is no less aggressive: the pursuit of dominance. Both forms of confrontation inflict profound damage, seeking to weaken adversaries, whether through the force of arms or the power of currency.
Trump’s policies are largely modeled after the approach of former President William McKinley (1897–1901). Despite the century-wide gap between them, both leaders believed that “economic power” was the cornerstone of influence and adhered to the doctrine of “America First,” using the economy as a tool to bolster dominance.
The historical contexts of their presidencies are different: McKinley implemented this strategy during America’s ascent as a global power, while Trump has sought to shield U.S. standing amid China’s growing influence. In doing so, he leaned on McKinley’s playbook to attempt to contain Chinese expansion.
Trump adopted McKinley’s method of managing alliances and promoting economic expansion but adapted it to fit the realities of influence in the modern era. The conflict between the U.S. and its rivals has shifted from military battlefields to commercial markets, with tariffs replacing military violence. When Trump imposed tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico, he echoed McKinley’s use of economic leverage to protect domestic markets.
While Trump’s sanctions might seem like a new strategy, they continue McKinley’s policies, which laid the foundations of economic imperialism.[i] Trump’s approach updated the tools but ended with the same outcome: destabilizing alliances and opening opportunities for emerging powers like China to exploit.
McKinley successfully annexed Hawaii to the United States in 1899 and acquired the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico.[ii] Similarly, Trump repeatedly expressed a desire to annex Canada and purchase Greenland, suggesting the use of military force if necessary. He also renamed Denali back to Mount McKinley in honor of the former president. Trump declared, “In a short time, we will restore the name of the great President William McKinley to Mount McKinley.”[iii]
Meanwhile, China sees Trumps’s trade war as an opportunity to forge new alliances, capitalizing on America’s protectionist policies to build trade blocs with Latin American countries. Trump’s goal is to collect $2 billion daily from import taxes.[iv] Global reactions have ranged from retaliatory measures to cautious silence.
China retaliated against the 145% tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump by levying its own counter-tariffs of 125% on all American imports.[v] At the same time, Trump slapped a 25% tariff on Canada, prompting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to announce that Canada would impose a 25% tariff on U.S. vehicles that did not comply with the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and Mexico.[vi] Mexico, for its part, tried to avoid American sanctions but ultimately found itself on the tariff list as well, with Trump imposing a 25% levy on the Latin American nation.[vii]
Amid this climate of escalating tensions and growing fractures within the Western world, China sees a valuable opportunity to forge new alliances with Latin American countries by positioning itself as a non-authoritarian trading partner. However, it is essential to note that China did not wait for Trump’s second term to expand into the Americas. It strengthened its presence by establishing the Chancay Port in Peru, in which China holds approximately 60% ownership. Construction of the port, which began in 2021, allows it to accommodate the world’s largest container ships with a capacity of up to 24,000 containers.[viii]
China also worked to strengthen its trade relations with several countries in the region, particularly Brazil. This relationship witnessed significant growth, peaking in 2024 when the Brazilian and Chinese presidents agreed to deepen their partnership during the G20 Summit held in Rio de Janeiro.[ix]
According to a 2022 report by the Brookings Institution, trade between China and Latin American countries exceeded $450 billion annually, making China the leading trading partner for many nations across the continent.[x] Some countries have already begun using the Chinese yuan in their commercial transactions to reduce the dominance of the U.S. dollar, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean. For instance, Argentina paid part of its $2.7 billion debt to the International Monetary Fund using the Chinese currency. Similarly, countries such as Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Iraq have expressed readiness to follow suit.[xi]
China seeks to strengthen its geopolitical influence across the Americas and globally through the Belt and Road Initiative by facilitating trade between itself and other nations. Notably, most African countries participating in the initiative are located along coastal areas, making it easier for China to transport raw materials to ports.[xii] More than 20 Latin American countries have joined the project, which is both an economic and geopolitical venture. Rather than expanding its dominance through military force, China seeks to win loyalty through calm engagement and mutual benefit, a stark contrast to the increasingly unfavorable current position of the United States. China is leveraging its economic clout to achieve geopolitical influence and cement its presence in the Americas.
Ongoing sanctions and economic pressures from major global powers are creating an environment that weakens traditional alliances, prompting countries to seek alternatives. When such pressures come from a superpower like the United States, they erode trust in the American-led unipolar system and encourage the reshaping of alliances in favor of alternatives, with China emerging as a prime beneficiary. As nations realize that safeguarding their core interests requires cooperation rather than conflict, they are increasingly turning toward peaceful solutions, paving the way for the emergence of new blocs capable of challenging U.S. dominance on the global stage. Some alliances already reflect this fatigue with American hegemony, such as the BRICS coalition, which advocates for “de-dollarization” and establishing an alternative economic system, with China as a central pillar.
The economic policies pursued by U.S. President Donald Trump are gradually reshaping the political landscape. The United States remains the most influential global pole, but China is steadily emerging as a rival force seeking to reach a comparable level of power. As Dr. Mohammad Walid Youssef notes in his book The Essence of the Global Order (p. 312), “The law of the balance of interests among regional and international actors, and their agreement to protect each other’s ultimate goals and strategic interests, can eventually lead to these actors becoming global poles after engaging in struggles with other international forces competing for polar dominance.”
Many countries are moving away from U.S. hegemony not only because of ideological differences, but also because of a growing conviction that Western (particularly American) dominance hampers their aspirations for sovereignty, stability, and national independence. In contrast, China presents itself as a rising power that follows a non-interventionist economic policy, making it an increasingly attractive alternative for many nations.
Venezuela, for example, once a vocal opponent of American imperialism, has suffered severe economic setbacks under U.S. sanctions, which not only crippled its economy but also fractured its political structure. As a result, Venezuela has increasingly distanced itself from Washington, turning toward China, which has positioned itself as a non-hostile partner focused on economic and developmental cooperation.
When allies sense economic instability, they begin to reposition themselves geopolitically and economically. In today’s world, this created a window of opportunity for China to emerge as the primary beneficiary. By exploiting the void left by Washington and the new investment opportunities that arise from it, China stands to gain significantly. The question now is: could China be the catalyst for a fundamental shift in the reconfiguration of the global order?
[i] Abdel Rahman, H. A. (2025, April 13). نحو عالم ما بعد الغرب: الترامبية وإعادة توزيع مناطق النفوذ في العالم [Towards a post-Western world: Trumpism and the redistribution of spheres of influence]. Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies. https://acpss.ahram.org.eg/News/21396.aspx
[ii] قفصي، ر. (2025, 22 de enero). لماذا يريد ترامب تغيير اسم جبل دينالي إلى جبل ماكينلي؟ Arabi21. https://arabi21.com/story/1656320/لماذا-يريد-ترامب-تغيير-اسم-جبل-دينالي-إلى-جبل-ماكينلي
[iii] Ibid.
[iv] Jiménez, M. (2025, April 9). Trump ha recaudado ya 4.800 millones con los aranceles a China y 2.000 millones con los de México. El País. https://elpais.com/internacional/2025-04-09/trump-ha-recaudado-ya-4800-millones-con-los-aranceles-a-china-y-2000-millones-con-los-de-mexico.html
[v] https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/11/china-strikes-back-with-125percent-tariffs-on-us-goods-starting-april-12.html
[vi] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cedyyll7467o
[vii] https://edition.cnn.com/2025/04/03/americas/mexico-praises-preferential-us-tariffs-treatment-latam-intl/index.html
[viii] https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Belt-and-Road/China-s-Xi-opens-3.5bn-Peru-megaport-in-U.S.-backyard
[ix] https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-xi-visits-brasilia-cap-tour-flexing-diplomatic-clout-2024-11-20/
[x] Kotschwar, B., & O’Neil, S. K. (2024, 15 April). How are the United States and China intersecting in Latin America? Brookings Institution. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-are-the-united-states-and-china-intersecting-in-latin-america/
[xi] Ventura, L. (2023, July 20). IMF accepts Argentina’s debt repayment in yuan. Global Finance Magazine. https://gfmag.com/economics-policy-regulation/imf-accepts-argentinas-debt-repayment-in-yuan/
[xii] https://infortal.com/chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-in-africa/