In recent decades, China has changed at an extraordinary pace, so quickly that many have struggled to keep up with its transformation. Many people, especially those over 50, often cling to an outdated perception of China. If you ask them what they think of the country, they will likely mention cheap, low-quality products produced by millions of factory workers. In their eyes, China is still the world’s toy workshop, the land of copycat products and low-end manufacturing. That may still be true in part, but it is now only a small fragment of a much larger picture.
China continues to be the factory of the world, as its near-trillion-dollar trade surplus in 2024 attests. But it is also a technological superpower, leading the world in strategic sectors that define both the present and the future: batteries, electric vehicles, green technology, 5G, advanced nuclear reactors, and more. It now produces more active patents and top-cited scientific publications each year than the United States. China indeed remains behind the U.S. when it comes to “zero-to-one” innovation – creating something entirely new from scratch. But it has become extraordinarily effective at advancing innovation, refining and scaling ideas that originate elsewhere. To describe China today merely as a country that copies the West is not just inaccurate; it is dangerously simplistic. China is now a powerhouse in manufacturing, technology, and innovation.
And yet, despite this astonishing rise, the United States has, until now, remained on top. There are many reasons for that. For one, by the 1970s, the U.S. was already the world’s leading economy and innovation hub, while China was only beginning to recover from the devastation of the Mao Zedong era. But beyond historical timing, and many other crucial elements, the United States’ global leadership has been underpinned by three structural advantages that have defined the post-World War II era: the ability to forge alliances, the openness of a multicultural society, and a scientific community free to explore and innovate.
While it would be overly complex to analyze every factor contributing to the United States’ sustained dominance, it is helpful to focus on three foundational pillars and how President Donald Trump is systematically dismantling them. This undermines the very advantages that have positioned the United States as a global leader.
Allied Scale
Alliances have historically been one of the United States’ greatest force multipliers, amplifying its power, projecting its influence, and helping it achieve global scale. While China possesses an immense internal scale today, thanks to its demographic size, industrial capacity, and centralized governance, the United States has achieved something far more potent: allied scale.
Through its alliances, the U.S. extended its military reach, built global intelligence networks, secured access to foreign markets, and internationalized its values. The web of post-war alliances allows Washington to project its interests far beyond what its size alone would allow. Alliances are not just about security. They also form the backbone of the liberal economic order, enabling U.S. firms like Apple to thrive in affluent markets tightly integrated into the U.S. sphere of influence.
But Trump is tearing apart this network. He does not view alliances as tools for expanding scale and influence, but as one-sided arrangements in which the United States is exploited. His transactional view of diplomacy – threatening NATO withdrawal, insulting long-standing allies, and cozying up to autocrats – has undermined trust and cooperation. At a time when the West should be tightening ranks to face China’s growing global reach, Trump is weakening the very architecture that could offer the decisive edge.
The United States, unlike China, cannot afford to go it alone. Without alliances, the U.S. will be outpaced by a rival that is not only larger but increasingly more integrated across authoritarian lines. As Kurt Campbell and Rush Doshi recently argued in Foreign Affairs, the idea that the United States can confront the Chinese challenge without the support of its partners is strongly misguided.
Diversity as a Strategic Asset
The United States has always drawn its strength from its diversity. A multicultural society has been central not only to American identity but to its competitive advantage. People from every corner of the world have come to the U.S. in search of opportunity, bringing with them skills, knowledge, and ambition. These flows of human capital have enriched American culture, driven economic growth, and crucially, powered its innovation engine.
From Silicon Valley to the arts, from Wall Street to Hollywood, multiculturalism has created a dynamic, hybrid society capable of constant reinvention. U.S. soft power – the allure of its universities, music, films, and democratic ideals – has been inseparable from its openness to the world.
China, by contrast, is an extremely closed society. Foreigners make up an even lower share of the population than in North Korea, and the political system is built on conformity, not cosmopolitanism. While China has made huge strides in innovation and industrial capability, it lacks the universal appeal and cultural reach of the United States.
And here lies a key U.S. advantage that Trump is now methodically dismantling. His war on immigration, mass deportations, bans, and fear campaigns targeting foreign students and workers have had a chilling effect. Talented people who once dreamed of building their future in the U.S. will now increasingly look elsewhere. The message is clear: the United States is no longer a welcoming place. And without this steady influx of talent, the U.S. will lose in the long run one of the fundamental engines of its greatness. In trying to “protect” the country from the world, Trump is robbing the U.S. of the very diversity that made it exceptional.
The Power of a Free Scientific Community
If there is a single factor that has underpinned U.S. leadership in technology and military power, it is the freedom of its scientific community. The United States became the world’s innovation superpower by creating a system in which research was not dictated by the state but shaped by curiosity, open debate, and collaboration across borders. The post-war decision to massively fund university research led to a golden era of breakthroughs – technologies that transformed the civilian and defense sectors alike. This system worked because it was built on autonomy, meritocracy, and international openness. Academic freedom was not a luxury – it was the foundation of U.S. power.
Trump, however, sees universities not as national assets, but as enemies in a culture war. Under his leadership, federal grants have been suspended or revoked on ideological grounds. Top-tier institutions like Columbia, Princeton, Penn, and Harvard are being targeted because they are seen as politically hostile. The Trump administration has frozen billions in funding to institutions that fail to align with its values.
This unprecedented politicization of research undermines the entire logic of academic excellence. Trump is not simply attacking institutions; he is undermining the ecosystem that made the United States the global leader in science and technology. In a contest with China, where scientific progress is closely tied to state priorities, the U.S. edge lies in freedom. Trump is jeopardizing that edge, choking the very engine that drives U.S. innovation. If the freedom to ask hard questions and pursue difficult truths is lost, so too is the strategic future of the United States.
Conclusion
These three elements – alliances, diversity, and academic freedom – are not only critical, but they are also deeply interconnected.
For example, consider Apple, one of the most profitable companies not only in the United States but worldwide. Its success is rooted in a remarkable capacity for innovation, itself made possible by a robust and free scientific ecosystem. That ecosystem, in turn, is nourished by an open and multicultural society that draws talent from every corner of the globe. At the same time, Apple’s global reach has been enabled by the United States’ economic and military alliances, particularly with wealthy nations within its sphere of influence – first and foremost, Europe. Of course, Apple has also benefited from globalization and the exploitation of low-cost labor in the global periphery, but even that is a consequence of the liberal, rules-based international order built by the United States – an order in which alliances and multilateralism have played a central role.
These pillars are not relics of the past; they remain the key comparative advantages in the competition for primacy with China. And if they collapse, so too might the U.S. claim to global leadership.