Time US embraced a multipolar world order

The Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, which concluded on May 15, was attended by representatives of both developed and developing economies, from the United States to Moldova. Washington's participation in the forum, however, is seen as a "sharp shift" in US foreign policy by some US scholars and strategists, who argue that the Belt and Road Initiative will grant China a bigger say in international rule-making at the expense of the United States.

This deduction is questionable, because the ultimate mission of the Beijing-proposed Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road is to improve the international order.

Since the end of the Cold War, Western powers have maintained a strong grip on global governance. On the one hand, they deserve credit for boosting regional growth and promoting globalization. On the other, their leadership has also widened global inequality and sparked economic crises.