Trump’s second term has wrought untold chaos like the world has not seen in decades, but China has not exploited that chaos in the way an emerging realist might.
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China’s Reactions to US Belligerence under Trump
How China has behaved in face of the US’s renewed hostility towards ally and adversary alike
Key Insights
- Main question: How has China reacted, both “on paper” (diplomatically) and in practice (strategically), to recent US belligerence in Greenland, Venezuela and Iran?
- Argument: The recent international political upheaval many might have thought would benefit China’s own ambitions, but this has not been as clear-cut as it seemed.
- Conclusion: Instead of expanding its own hard power and ambition through force and coercion, China has shown signs of wishing to be the new leader of a peace-desiring.
By Diogo Albuquerque Nascimento
10 May 2026 · 19:21 CET· Updated 21 June 2026 · 18:00 CETIssue II
Cite this brief
Nascimento, D. A. (2026). China’s Reactions to US Belligerence under Trump. EPIS Insight · International Relations & Diplomacy.
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