Why Chinese Analysts Say Trump Is Accelerating American Decline

This perspective, once mostly confined to nationalist online forums, has moved into mainstream discourse. A recent study by Brookings Institution researchers found that references to “American decline” in official Chinese sources nearly doubled in 2025.A think tank affiliated with Renmin University published a report titled “Thank Trump,” claiming his tariffs, attacks on allies, anti-immigration policies, and domestic chaos have unintentionally boosted China’s rise. The report called Trump an “accelerator of American political decay.”