Professor Wang Wen: De-Americanizing China and the World
Dec. 31—In an article published in The Diplomat Oct. 24, and again in an interview with Glenn Diesen Dec. 26, Professor Wang Wen described what he called “China’s De-Americanization Strategy.” Professor Wang is the Dean and Professor of Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, the Dean of the School of Global Leadership, and the Deputy Dean of the Silk Road School, as well as a visiting professor at more than 10 universities around the world. He makes clear that China is not engaged in “a Cold War replay,” nor is it trying to cut ties to the U.S. but is rather engaged in a “broader effort … to redefine its path of development and reduce exposure to U.S. pressure.” He demonstrates his argument in five key areas: trade, science and technology, finance, ideology, and education. It is worth reviewing the data he provides in order to understand the crucial role of U.S.-China relations in the current radically changing world.
He reports: “In 2018, the United States made up 19.3% of China’s total foreign trade. By the first eight months of 2025, that share had fallen to 9.2%—even as China’s total trade expanded 45%.” Sales of China’s high-tech goods to the U.S. have fallen to 28%, while such exports to regional countries have risen to 41%.
While the United States has blacklisted more than 1,700 Chinese entities since 2018, “aiming to block their access to advanced technologies,” China has instead massively expanded research and development, such that China now “accounts for 61.5% of global generative AI patents, and its research papers in autonomous driving and quantum computing now exceed U.S. publications in citation impact.” Other milestones include: “the Beidou satellite network now serves more than 200 countries and regions; the Fendouzhe submersible reached a depth of 10,000 meters, and the Chang’e 6 lunar probe returned samples from the far side of the Moon,” the only nation to have achieved that feat.
In global finance, whereas the U.S. weaponized the use of the dollar as the leading international currency for trade, “China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System now supports transactions in 185 countries … and China has signed local currency settlement agreements with more than 40 countries.” A full 58% of cross-border trade globally is now conducted in China’s RMB, while 95% of China’s trade with Russia is in local currencies. Professor Wang emphasizes that “China is not aiming to displace the U.S. dollar. Instead, it is creating a system where the dollar remains central but is supplemented by other currencies, strengthening financial security and reducing exposure to unilateral sanctions.”
Professor Wang notes that China is demonstrating that the U.S. model is not the only path to development. As evidence, he reports: “China has lifted more than 100 million people out of extreme poverty over the past decade [some estimate this is 850 million over 40 years], and has achieved the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 10 years ahead of schedule.” To show China’s major role in development internationally, he points to the central role of China in the BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the Belt and Road Initiative, all in which China plays a leading role.
In education, Professor Wang remarked that China had to deal with the fact that a significant share of Chinese science and engineering graduates once remained in the United States after their graduation, “limiting domestic capacity for innovation. To reverse this trend, China launched the Strengthening Basics Plan, enrolling 180,000 students over five years in fields such as semiconductors and nuclear science. By 2024, 92% of graduates remained in China.” Also: “International student flows have balanced: By 2024, China hosted 520,000 foreign students, while the number of Chinese nationals studying in the United States dropped from a peak of 400,000 to under 200,000.”
Professor Wang concludes: “The goal is not confrontation, but strategic autonomy. In this evolving framework, emerging economies can participate in global governance without relying on a single dominant power. De-Americanization is less a rebellion than a quiet repositioning—laying the foundation for what might be called re-globalization, in which a diverse, balanced, and multipolar world order becomes the new standard.”