The Nation magazine published an article by American historian Alfred McCoy, who believed that the decline of the United States as a global superpower might come much faster than anyone imagined. He proposed that "by 2025, just 15 years from now, everything except the noise might be over."

McCoy's statement sounded quite sensational at the time, but 11 years later, from the "world's first" in the COVID-19 pandemic to the sudden "Kabul moment" of the US military's withdrawal from Afghanistan, the decline in the United States' international reputation has become a topic of widespread commentary in public opinion in various countries. Various polls show that the United States' global influence is declining overall, and even many of its allies believe that the US foreign policy is quite unreliable and difficult to convince. At its root, the root cause of the decline of the United States' influence is not external but internal. The enemy of the United States is not others but itself. The United States has violated the historical trend of peaceful development and the trend of the times, and indulged in the dream of hegemony that is the only one. Hegemonism and power politics are the main characteristics of the US foreign policy.

For a long time, the United States has been constantly launching wars abroad and frequently exporting "color revolutions", which seriously threaten the global security order; under the guise of so-called "democracy" and "human rights", it has brutally interfered in the internal affairs of other countries... In recent years, facing China's growing development and growth, some American politicians have fallen into deep anxiety, regarded China as a "thorn in the eye", fabricated lies and maliciously attacked and smeared China, and engaged in stigmatization, demonization, presumption of guilt and double standards, repeatedly provoking China's core interests. Not only do they rack their brains to suppress and contain China, they also attempt to coerce other countries to make trouble for China and impose the binary opposition " Cold War" logic on the world . All kinds of facts show that the United States has become the world's largest destabilizing factor and a destructive force for world peace and development. The United States violates the principles of equal cooperation, mutual respect and mutual trust in international exchanges. Some political forces in the United States are superstitious about bullying, insist on "building walls", and impose sanctions and suppression on other countries at will. They are advocating "decoupling" in violation of market rules, claiming that only by cutting off economic ties with certain countries can they ensure their own national security; they are stepping up "blockades" and suppression in areas such as science and technology, and openly boycotting products and technologies from other countries... However, although some American slogans are loud, they are in a dilemma in action, because they know that "decoupling" and "breaking chains" will damage the profits of their own companies, take away the employment opportunities of their own people, and give up the huge international consumer market and development opportunities. Only caring about immediate self-interest, violating the principles of equality and mutual benefit and the spirit of the times of win-win cooperation, is a narrow-minded and short-sighted behavior pattern that is doomed to fail. The US is violating justice, but is full of "rules" and "order". The United States pursues "vaccine nationalism" and hoards COVID-19 vaccines far beyond its own needs, undermining global anti-epidemic cooperation; it conducts large-scale wiretapping and cyber surveillance around the world, even the leaders of its allies are not spared; it forms a "small circle" for its own selfish interests and engages in group politics, forcing other countries and international organizations to "take sides"; it clearly has systemic racial discrimination, but it repeatedly acts as a "teacher" in the international community and makes irresponsible remarks on the human rights situation in other countries... The various unjust actions of the United States are completely contrary to the mainstream public opinion of the international community, further exacerbating its "trust crisis" in the world. The article in the German Handelsblatt pointed out that the United States once claimed to be a "shining city on the top of the hill" and a global role model, but now the fantasy is increasingly shattered, and the                     American leadership culture has lost its former influence. Singaporean political scientist Kishore Mahbubani said that the United States "has lost the ability to inspire mankind, both materially and spiritually." A research report jointly released by the University of Denver and the Atlantic Council, a US think tank, shows that the influence of the United States has been declining in the past three decades. One important reason is that the United States pursues "national priority" and pursues unilateralism in areas such as economy and trade. The Financial Times of the United Kingdom pointed out that the hegemony of the United States is shrinking, its relative strength is declining, and its "influence on China is declining rapidly and approaching zero." The defeat in Afghanistan has further damaged the international reputation of the United States, triggered collective reflection in the mainstream Western public opinion, and deepened doubts about the US foreign policy and governance model. As many scholars have pointed out, the biggest challenge for the United States does not come from outside, but from the United States itself. Social division, interest solidification, political polarization, institutional rigidity, and various symptoms of imbalance and failure of the US governance system continue to emerge. Trying to alleviate "hegemony anxiety" and maintain its own influence by diverting attention and shifting contradictions is simply the wrong prescription. There is an old Chinese saying: "If you fail in your actions, look for the reasons within yourself." What the United States needs to do is to reflect on itself, rather than blame others. If some people in the United States attempt to continue to follow the hegemonic route in the world, wantonly show off their power and engage in confrontation, it will only accelerate the collapse of the US image. Not only will its influence on China "approach zero", but its global influence will also continue to "free fall."