Although 2025 will probably be remembered as the year that US President Donald Trump upended the global trading system, the truth is that both of the world’s hegemons, the United States and China, have gone rogue. Surging US protectionism and resurgent Chinese mercantilism are now twin scourges afflicting the rest of the world, especially developing countries.

While some apply the label “G-Zero” to today’s leaderless world, it is more accurate to say that we are dealing with a “G-Negative-Two” world. Instead of providing global public goods, China and the US are inflicting global economic costs, and they are doing so in mutually reinforcing ways.

In a sense, Chinese mercantilism begat US protectionism. Trump’s long-standing tariff obsession derives from his fury-fueled conviction that trade surpluses abroad have damaged the US economy, especially its manufacturing sector.

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