Since returning to the White House in January 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump has bullied, scolded, and coerced countries the world over—alienating friends, neighbors, allies, competitors, adversaries, and neutral states alike—with the United States becoming what the scholar Stephen Walt has described in Foreign Affairs as a “predatory hegemon.” Trump’s policies have created a vast global geostrategic vacuum, tailor-made for China to take advantage of by expanding its own presence and influence. For Chinese strategists and diplomats, however, taking advantage of Washington’s unforced errors has proved easier said than done. China’s opportunities to broaden its global footprint and advance its interests vary by region and by domain, and its track record so far is mixed at best: some advances, some stasis, and some setbacks. At the moment, all eyes are on the important upcoming summit between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping , which will take place in the shadow of the war in Iran.…