"G2" Trump is worrying in Washington and Asia – is the era of common hegemony of the US and China coming?

chiny24.com 1 month ago

The return of the G2 concept and its controversy

On November 1, 2025, president Donald Trump, publishing on fact Social platform: “G2 will meet soon!”, again raised global concern. After the summit with Xi Jinping in South Korea, he wrote: "My G2 gathering with the president of China was large for both countries. This will lead them to eternal peace and success”.

Though the deadline ‘G2’ – meaning the informal partnership between the US and China as 2 major planet powers – first appeared in 2000. (proposed by American economist Fred Bergsten), it is present generating strong reactions in Asian capitals and in the circles of American abroad policy.

Ally concerns: division into “areas of influence”

Critics, including erstwhile representatives of Biden's administration, inform that the G2 concept may imply the division of Asia into spheres of influence, where the US and China make rules without the participation of 3rd countries. Kurt Campbell, a erstwhile Deputy Secretary of State for Asia, pointed out that this thought had caused fears among allies from the very beginning – especially in Japan, whose government effectively lobbied Obama's administration to reject this model.

Mira Rapp-Hooper, a safety expert in Asia and erstwhile advisor to the National safety Council, stressed:

"Both these terms – 'G2' and 'new model of the relation of large powers' – are seen as problematic by allies due to the fact that they propose that the US and China will resolve global issues without the participation of another actors".

Japanese MP Akihisa Nagashima warned that in specified a arrangement Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, and even Guam — the U.S. territory — could be found in China's sphere of influence. "Japan must strengthen itself and reject the concept of spheres of influence," he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Different interpretations: from "sustainable cooperation" to "allowance for dominance"

In the U.S., the G2 concept is dividing:

Restrainers – like Jennifer Kavanagh of Think Tank defence Priorities – believe that maintaining American dominance in Asia is no longer sustainable. In their sense, Trump signals a shift to keep a balance of power.
Traditional allies and strategists see this as weakening American commitments to partners – especially in the South China Sea region.

What does Beijing say?

Paradoxically, China besides does not accept the G2 concept – although it seems to fit their ambition. Yun Sun, manager of the Chinese program at Stimson Center, explains that Beijing rejects this word because:

It would block China's communicative as the leader of the “Global South” – a position China deliberately builds in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
It would hold them accountable for global order, which they do not want to share with the US on an equal basis.
It is associated with the cold war rivalry of the USA–ZSRR, whose final – the dissolution of the russian Union – is not attractive to China.

According to Sun, Xi Jinping besides abandoned the slogan of the "new model of the relations of the large powers" of 2013, considering them obsolete. Instead, China is proposing a "peaceful coexistence" – a concept that the US seems ready for only now.

"China has wanted the US to accept peaceful coexistence for years – but it is only present that Washington seems inclined to enter this model," said Sun.

What's next? No strategy and increasing hazard of ambiguity

At the time of the publication of this article (5 November 2025), the Trump administration has not yet revealed a formal strategy for China, the Indo-Pacific strategy, and the National Defence Strategy. The repeated usage of the word "G2" by the president so remains the main origin of explanation of his vision.

For Asian countries – especially Japan, India, Vietnam – deficiency of clarity means an increased hazard of political isolation and security. For the United States – a dilemma between geopolitical realism and work to allies.

For now, the question remains: is the "G2" the beginning of the stabilisation strategy or the signal of the U.S. withdrawing from its full commitment to Asia?

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