Icon: enlarge
Xi Jinping and Joe Biden in Chengdu, China, in 2011, at that time both as Vice Presidents of their countries.
Photo:
PETER PARKS / AFP
SPIEGEL:
Mr. Yan, there is a popular opinion in Beijing that the USA is in decline and that comparisons with the Soviet Union are circulating in its final years.
Do you share this perspective?
Yan:
All the empires in history have perished, and it won't be any different in the next thousand years.
Leaders go through three phases: ascension, survival, and decline.
I am neither shocked nor surprised by the US decline.
The question is how it unfolds.
The United Kingdom was the leading power in the world for a long time, and its decline was very slow, lasting several decades.
The Soviet Union shattered like a glass falling on the ground.
I think the US's downfall will be more like Britain's.
SPIEGEL:
Did the tumultuous end of the Trump era damage the US globally?
Yan:
US foreign policy no longer has any credibility, Trump has completely ruined it.
Its unilateralism meant that the US had ignored the interests of other countries, even those of its allies.
How can you trust a country when you never know what it's going to do?
The presidential election, the storming of the Capitol and, above all, the reaction to it have accelerated this trend.
They even blocked Trump's Twitter account.
This makes it clear that they will not tolerate other opinions.
Read more with Spiegel Plus
More perspectives, more understanding.
Your advantages with SPIEGEL +
Icon: Check
SPIEGEL as a magazine
as an app, e-paper and on the e-reader
Icon: Check
All articles on SPIEGEL.de
Exclusive texts for SPIEGEL + readers
Icon: Check
Try one month for free
Cancel anytime online
A price
only € 19.99 per month
One month for € 0.00
Try now for 0.00 € Buy nowArrow to the right
Already have a digital subscription? Register here
Restore iTunes subscription
SPIEGEL + is processed via your iTunes account and paid for with a purchase confirmation.
24 hours before it expires, the subscription is automatically renewed by one month at the current price of € 19.99.
You can cancel the subscription at any time in the settings of your iTunes account.
In order to use SPIEGEL + outside of this app, you have to link the subscription to a SPIEGEL ID account immediately after purchase.
With the purchase you accept our general terms and conditions and privacy policy.