Counting China’s wins and losses among ‘swing nations’ in new era of power rivalry - South China Morning Post

"China, whose influence is mainly economic, cannot remove US influence from most regions, should it want to do so," said Frans-Paul van der Putten, an independent China expert based in the Netherlands.

While the US was retreating from its traditional leadership roles in multilateral organisations, it maintained "an influential position" and a global military presence and "shows no intention to withdraw militarily from East and Southeast Asia", van der Putten said.

"Whereas the US is redefining its foreign policy, for now this is not producing a major power vacuum for China to step into," he said, while warning that American coercion also had its limits and risks.

"Countries do not want to be wholly dependent on just one major power."

Article by Shi Jiangtao. Click here for the full article on the SCMP site.