Fukuyama: Trump Made Xi Jinping’s Job Enormously Easier

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By TRH World Desk

Political theorist argues America’s “self-harm” under Trump has reduced pressure on China and reshaped the Taiwan equation

New Delhi, May 25, 2026 — Francis Fukuyama, the American political scientist best known for his influential End of History thesis, has argued that US President Donald Trump has unintentionally strengthened China’s strategic position by weakening America internally.

In a video monologue discussing US-China competition and Taiwan, Fukuyama said Trump’s political trajectory had made life “enormously easier” for Chinese President Xi Jinping. “Trump has made Xi Jinping’s life enormously easier,” Fukuyama said, adding that the effect was reflected in Xi’s conduct during recent diplomatic engagements.

Trump this month visited Beijing during which Xi confronted him on the Taiwan issue, warning that conflict may break out if the US were to interfere. The US reportedly has paused arms sell for Taiwan after Trump’s China visit, raising deep alarm in the Indo Pacific.

He argued that the United States under Trump had embarked on “such a determined process of self-harm” that China no longer needed to actively undermine American influence.

“China does not really need to do anything other than sit back and watch it unfold,” he said. Fukuyama also addressed Taiwan, referring to Trump’s prediction that China would avoid military action against the island while he remained president.

“Trump predicted that China would not attack Taiwan while he was the president, and he may be right about this,” Fukuyama said.

According to him, Beijing may prefer to avoid confrontation while the United States faces internal political and institutional strain. However, he suggested the strategic calculation could change if Washington eventually adopts a different course.

“Xi does not want to get in the way of a declining United States,” he said, but warned that China “may be forced to act quickly” if a future American administration attempts to reverse what he described as a long-term trajectory.

Fukuyama is one of the world’s most recognised political theorists and gained global prominence after publishing The End of History and the Last Man in 1992. The book argued that liberal democracy had emerged as the dominant ideological model after the Cold War, a thesis that has remained heavily debated amid China’s rise and renewed geopolitical competition.

Currently associated with Stanford University Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, Fukuyama has written extensively on democracy, governance, nationalism and global power shifts.

His latest comments come as US-China rivalry continues to shape debates over Taiwan, Indo-Pacific security and the future balance of power.