Why 2025 could be a make-or-break year for the US in Asia

Donald Trump has

promised a “golden age” for America,

but in Asia things could not look more dismal for the world’s still-most powerful nation. As President Joe Biden leaves the scene, American power – particularly, soft power – has never looked so nebulous. 

At the very least, a picture of confusion is evident. At one extreme is the fear of American retrenchment, born partly out of the isolationism and inward-looking nativism inherent in the forces that propelled Trump to power.