Expert says so-called U.S.-led liberal international order has collapsed

The so-called liberal international order led by the United States has already collapsed, which is probably caused by the United States itself, an expert said in the CGTN debate show Talking China live-streamed on Monday.

"The whole thing has gone," said Li Cheng, founding director of the Center on Contemporary China and the World at the University of Hong Kong, adding that it has collapsed in recent years, especially in recent weeks and particularly evident in transatlantic relations.

He pointed to U.S. President Donald Trump's America First approach and his deputy JD Vance's harsh criticism of Europe at the annual Munich Security Conference last month, viewing European countries as problems rather than allies.

Li said the world today is "in a very critical moment in history" with rapid change and lots of uncertainty and confusion.

"Sometimes it is really astonishing to see how quickly U.S.-led allies now talk about the possible collapse of NATO and collapse of transatlantic relations," he said.

"But this is not caused by China," Li said in response to allegations that China is going to change the international order.

He said that, just like some other countries, China emphasizes the importance of the United Nations at this critical moment in world history and does not want to change the UN-led, rules-based international order.

Li said China also strongly supports economic globalization because it benefits from economic globalization along with other countries.

During the same debate, Liu Zhiqin, a senior fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, said China has never tried to change the global order.

However, there is a demand from the international community that actions of unilateral hegemonism and bullying be changed, said Liu.

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