# Why China Doesn't Want to be an American-Style Hegemon Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-china-global-south-podcast-5670371/why-china-doesn-t-want-to-be-an-american-style-hegemon Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-china-global-south-podcast-5670371/why-china-doesn-t-want-to-be-an-american-style-hegemon.md Podcast: [The China-Global South Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-china-global-south-podcast-5670371) Published: 2026-05-19T01:25:00+00:00 Episode link: https://ea0f0fdd-2944-4ff3-8a00-704e8c67d58b.libsyn.com/why-china-doesnt-want-american-style-hegemony Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/ea0f0fdd-2944-4ff3-8a00-704e8c67d58b/CGSP_05192026_Libsyn.mp3?dest-id=4287628 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-china-global-south-podcast-5670371/episodes/why-china-doesn-t-want-to-be-an-american-style-hegemon Duration seconds: 2190 ## Resource One of the most common talking points among policymakers and analysts in Washington is the belief that China aims to replace the United States as the world's dominant power. Variations of that narrative are also widely shared in many European capitals. There is little doubt that China is asserting itself more forcefully in global affairs, especially amid a new era of Great Power competition. But senior officials in Beijing have also made clear that they have little interest in taking on the full responsibilities and obligations that come with traditional global leadership. In a recent Foreign Policy article, Jeremy Friedman, an associate professor at Harvard Business School, explored the limits and ambitions of China's expanding international power. He joins Eric to discuss what China wants… and what it does not want from a changing global order. 📌 Topics Covered in this Episode China's global ambitions The future of U.S. power Why Beijing rejects hegemony Taiwan and regional security Trade, tech, and critical minerals The emerging world order Show Notes: Foreign Policy: How Far Do China's Ambitions Reach? by Jeremy Friedman East Asia Forum: China's ambitions are narrower than Washington thinks by David Kang, Jackie Wong & Zenobia Chan Join the Discussion: X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social Follow CGSP in French and Spanish: French: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine Spanish: www.chinalasamericas.com | @ChinaAmericas Join us on Patreon! Become a CGSP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new C… ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-china-global-south-podcast-5670371/episodes/why-china-doesn-t-want-to-be-an-american-style-hegemon/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-china-global-south-podcast-5670371/why-china-doesn-t-want-to-be-an-american-style-hegemon.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.