Apart from naming the impact leaders have on us, with "land of the free" and "beacon of democracy" becoming past stations, I think important general factor in people's evaluation is that the VS no longer has the "democracy vs. dictatorship" advantage on China.
Honor also plays a part. The US has broken several treaties, claiming they're no longer valid because the current administration doesn't like the people who negotiated those treaties. That makes the US undependable, unreliable. Why negotiate a trade treaty with the US in good faith when the US will ignore that treaty whenever they see fit? That's dishonorable and there's no point in negotiating with dishonorable people.
To your point, that dishonor throws away all of the US soft power.
Honestly, at this point I trust Xi to follow through on his promises more than I do Trump - and that's sad.
> Honestly, at this point I trust Xi to follow through on his promises more than I do Trump - and that's sad.
Some of Xi's promises:
- Taiwan...
- (a measly) 1 million jobs in Africa[1].
- Corruption Crackdown [2]
- Modernization by 2029 [3]
- Unwavering support for Jack Ma and China's private tech bigwigs [4]
- China will stand with Southeast Asian countries in face of economic shocks [5]
- Boost coordination with Kim John Un[6]
Looking at promises is one thing. However, I would rather pay attention to what is NOT being said or what is being done. Middle East, Ukraine, Taiwan, Africa...
