2003, 2008, 2009 and 2016 mark the milestones that saw China moving from the perimeter to the center in G-20 as China was becoming more interested and astute in participating in global governance.

Unlike in the confrontation 1970s, China and Russia have established a comprehensive strategic partnership and see eye-to-eye on key international issues. The US and Russia, meanwhile, have many strategic conflicts and are unlikely to develop a close relationship, despite President-elect Trump’s possible wishful thinking.

If the new president’s military and budget priorities don’t change, the U.S. is likely to lose the leverage it has with allies by underwriting their defense and to start a new arms race when a stronger U.S. military upends the current balance of power.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, in his unprecedented appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, calls for new models of global growth, cooperation, governance and development.

The president-elect’s seeming antipathy for African-Americans and Africa itself concerns many who saw Hillary Clinton as more engaged with the continent. If the Trump administration truly adopts a policy to marginalize Africa, the US may well lose its status among African people as the favored model of development to China.

Chaos on the Korean Peninsula would have a direct and far-reaching impact on the security environment of China. China push for the principle of “no war, no chaos and no nuclear weapons” on the Peninsula will become even stronger amid uncertainties posed by the election of Donald Trump and the planned tests by the DPRK.

Few recent developments in Sino-US relations, preceding the 2016 presidential election, strained the imagination. Enter Donald Trump.

Many factors will impede efforts by the incoming US president to create a warmer relationship with Moscow. But even if U.S.-Russia détente is around the corner, a reversed version of the “Nixon moment” — in which the U.S. holds hands with Russia to balance China — is not a logical outcome of this triangular balance of power. How China and U.S. deal with challenges in their bilateral relationship, from trade to the South China Sea, will shape China-U.S. relations in the next stage.

Trump could improve trust between Washington and Moscow by persuading NATO to slow the pace of its expansion or withdrawing troops from the Russian border, but even Russia does not imagine the new US government will abandon NATO expansion in a hurry. Nor will Moscow embrace the US at the expense of its relationship with Beijing. China, meanwhile, will continue to pursue a new type of great-power relationship with the US while seeking to work more closely with Russia, and look for more areas where their interests converge.

As the TPP trade pact fizzles away, China would happily expand its domain of influence in the Pacific Rim region while U.S. allies and friends inevitably look for a more reliable partner in the neighborhood. As these geopolitical realities set in, will Trump’s campaign promises to “Make America Great Again” eventually result in “Making China Great Again” and leave the U.S. much less relevant?