Finished reading another masterpiece of yours! Concerning the prospect of US-China conflict, he seems to emphasizes that there is still meaningful room for strategic choice. His brand of pragmatic realism is more grounded and operational than many traditional models. For countries in the Asia-Pacific, instead of continuing to bet on a great power whose strategic will is increasingly uncertain, it may be time to seriously consider how to achieve regional stability and strategic autonomy in a post-American era.

White points to a scenario in which China can now safely defy or ignore American preferences-a significant shift in global power dynamics. I've been reflecting on this as well, and personally I believe that the decline of respect for the United States in China is not caused by China-but by the US itself.

In fact, over the past few decades, as China developed rapidly, it borrowed extensively from the American model while maintaining its own characteristics. From national leaders to ordinary citizens, many have long regarded the US as a teacher or role model-surely, excluding its hegemonic records.

But the problem is, the US today no longer acts like a country worthy of that kind of respect. From launching an unjustified war in Iraq, to violating the spirit of treaties and using issues like Taiwan and the South China Sea, both undoubtedly Chinese territories, to contain China; from maintaining dominance not by improving itself but by suppressing China, to domestic contradictions like systemic racism alongside excessive political correctness towards certain high-profile minorities-these have led many people in China and beyond to ask: Does the US still deserve the level of global respect it once enjoyed?

I still respect America. And I genuinely hope it can return, not as an empire clinging to power through fear and coercion, but as a rational, confident, and constructive global leader.