One of the biggest debates in the foreign policy world is whether or not China can be considered a great power or not. Proponents of Chinese expansionism will argue that the US cannot be viewed as a great power due to its past failures and that the US is too divided and weak to deal with problems like those in the Middle East or Asia. The other side will point to the economic gains of China, which far outweigh its political clout. Whether the Chinese can play a major role in the world, as a great power or not remains to be seen, but the US has clearly decided that China is a major player and no longer needs to consult the US before proceeding with its economic growth.

For years the Chinese have talked about their aspiration to become a hegemon, the power behind the US and the West and this is definitely something to be considered. If China can be successful at getting global trade deals, which it has already done with many countries, then it will be seen as a great power and its economy will become the largest on the globe. The US has always rebuffed Chinese overtures claiming that it is still committed to free market capitalism and American exceptionalism, but with the economic prosperity in China and the US not nearly as pronounced, perhaps the US is now convinced that it doesn't have a choice but to deal with China as it can and will. If China becomes a hegemon, dominating the trade deals all over the world, then this can only be good news for the US.

外交政策界最大的辯論之一是中國是否可以被視為大國。支持中國擴張主義的人將辯稱，由於過去的失敗，美國不能被視為大國，而且美國過於分裂和軟弱，無法應對中東或亞洲的問題。另一端將指出中國的經濟收益，其經濟影響遠大於其政治影響力。中國人能否在世界上扮演大國角色，還有待觀察，但美國已經明確決定中國是主要角色，在繼續其經濟增長之前不再需要諮詢美國。

多年來，中國人一直在談論他們成為霸主的願望，美國和西方背後的力量，這絕對是值得考慮的事情。如果中國能夠成功達成與許多國家/地區達成的全球貿易協議，那麼它將被視為一個強大的大國，其經濟將成為全球最大的國家。美國一直拒絕接受中國的提議，聲稱中國仍然致力於自由市場資本主義和美國例外主義，但是鑑於中國和美國的經濟繁榮並不那麼明顯，也許美國現在堅信它別無選擇但要盡可能地與中國打交道。如果中國成為霸主，統治著世界各地的貿易協定，那麼這對美國來說只是個好消息。

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superpower#:~:text=China%20is%20now%20considered%20an,diplomacy%20and%20soft%20power%20influence.&text=Currently%2C%20China%20has%20been%20referred,par%20with%20the%20United%20States.