The international financial infrastructure has long been dominated by Western institutions. China’s advances in digital currency could help spread its influence on global commerce enough to challenge the hegemony of the U.S. dollar.

China’s fundamentals are resilient and robust, and the trend points to normalcy and growth. Trade is up, inflation has been controlled, and while the U.S. Fed’s rate hike pushed many currencies down, the Chinese yuan has remained stable.

China reported its worst economic performance since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The systemic challenge for the U.S. is not China but the worst inflation in 40 years. In fact, fragmentation does not seem to be happening in the real world. Even an Asia-Pacific version of NATO will not likely divide the region, as China will continue to be a major trade partner.

Removing import tariffs on Chinese goods could lower consumer prices in the U.S. amid inflation, dissipate the U.S.-China trade war, and support the administration’s overall strategy to strengthen its presence and influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

Expansion of the group can only bring positive results. When BRICS becomes stronger, it will provide other countries with bigger markets and contribute more to the green, high-quality and sustainable development of the global economy.

The American economy will inevitably experience a Volcker-style contraction — think early 1980s — and it will have a global impact. Today’s inflation is stubborn and structural, and it will be virtually impossible to bring it down to 2 percent without tipping the economy into recession.

Is the U.S. ready to meaningfully engage with the Asia-Pacific region? Their latest offering comes in the form of the IPEF, and the differences between the U.S.-led trade pact and competing ones led by Asian powers will show whether American leadership has brought enough to the table.

The IPEF - a U.S.-initiated trade and development partnership - is poised to bring in enthusiastic participation from several nations in the Asia-Pacific region. Notably, Southeast Asian states are well represented among members, giving the U.S. considerable influence right in China’s backyard.

Europe has taken a strategic stance when it comes to its relationship with the U.S. and with China. While the U.S. has strengthened ties with its European allies to contain China, Europe also supports China’s monetary ambitions regarding the RMB.