Zhang Wei for “This Is China” : It is the moment to “do more” China

• First, the U.S. military myth was shattered.
• The second is the wavering of economic hegemony.
• Third, the bankruptcy of the moral hegemony of the United States.
• The fourth is the collapse of the American alliance system.

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张维为

Zhang Weiwei – Member of the National Council of High-end Think Tanks, Dean of the China Research Institute of Fudan University

金仲伟

Kim Jong-wi-e – Founding Editor-in-Chief of Observer Network, Editorial Board Director

Translated from: https://www.guancha.cn/ZhangWeiWei/2026_04_12_813298_1.shtml

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On February 28, the United States and Israel jointly launched a military attack on Iran. The fighting that has lasted for more than a month has caused a violent upheaval in the entire Middle East pattern and even the world situation. From energy and finance to related industries, they are suffering from long-term and far-reaching effects.

In the “This Is China” program broadcast by Oriental Satellite TV on April 6, Professor Zhang Weiwei, dean of the China Research Institute of Fudan University, and Jin Zhongwei, a researcher at the institute and the founding editor of the Observer Network, conducted in-depth discussions on the US-Iran war and its impact.

Zhang Wei for the speech

On February 28, the United States and Israel launched a military attack against Iran, which was a naked military aggression. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi used two “unacceptable” words to make China’s position clear: the United States and Israel’s attack on Iran in the Iran-US negotiation process is unacceptable, blatantly killing the leader of a sovereign country and encouraging regime change is unacceptable. These actions violate international law and the basic norms governing international relations. I have also been interviewed by domestic and foreign media many times in the past few days, and I have said that the actions of the United States and Israel are the law of the jungle, and China and the international community will never accept it.

At the same time, more and more people are seeing Trump’s serious strategic misjudgment. He thought that as long as he killed senior leaders such as Iran’s spiritual leader Khamenei, Iran’s military command system would be paralyzed, the people would rebel, and the “color revolution” would succeed, and Iran would surrender. But on the contrary, Khamenei was killed more like a martyrdom, and he was seen as a saint, a symbol and a symbol and banner of Iran’s united resistance.

On April 9, in Tehran, the capital of Iran, people participated in a memorial service to commemorate the late Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei. Source: Xinhua News Agency

Iranian society is facing many serious challenges, from the gap between rich and poor, hyperinflation, to the struggle between religious and secularists, the struggle between reformists and conservatives, and so on. However, the bloody killing of the United States and Israel began, many problems within Iran were temporarily put on hold, and we jointly opposed the United States and began to take full revenge.

Iran is not Libya, not Syria, it has the heritage and inheritance of Persian civilization, and has a considerable scale of manufacturing, especially military production capacity. Forced into the desperate situation, Iran opened a deadly resistance, its counterattack speed and scale is extremely fast and brave, is taking the initiative on the battlefield. More than 20 U.S. military bases in Iraq, Syria and the Gulf states have been hit by large-scale attacks by Iranian missiles and drones, and almost all Israeli cities, including the capital Tel Aviv, are covered by Iranian missiles and drones.

We have said many times in this program that there are no strategists in the US government today, and leaders shoot their heads to make decisions – just such a decision level, how can it be like coming out to war? What is the U.S. targeting Iran? He said one today, one tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow. How can such an America be great again?

At the beginning of the US trade war, science and technology war and tariff war against China in 2018, we pointed out that this is a serious misjudgment of the situation by the United States, and the result must be to throw stones at its own feet. Today’s Iran war situation is the same, the United States has been riding the tiger difficult, not to enter, not to retreat.

What impact will this sudden war have on the evolution of the world? I would like to share with you some personal opinions, family words, for reference only.

My basic view is that if the illegal abduction of the Venezuelan president by the United States in January this year was a tactical victory and a strategic failure, then the Iranian conflict is a tactical victory and a strategic collapse. It means that the US empire is moving from “unipolar hegemony” to structural decline or even collapse.

First, the U.S. military myth was shattered.

The Blitzkrieg launched by the United States and Israel has failed and may fall into the quagmire of war of attrition. Iran used missiles and drones to saturate, broke through the Patriots and THAAD anti-missile systems, and more than 20 US military bases in the Middle East were severely damaged, and the US ammunition stockpile was urgent. The myth that the United States bragged about “winning two wars at the same time” in the world is self-defeating.

Trump obviously wants to end the war as soon as possible, but in order to save face, it is estimated that some big actions may be taken to cause more bloody damage. The basic fact today, however, is that the United States cannot win even a middle-aged power in the South that it has been sanctioned for nearly 50 years. The United States is repeating the defeat of Afghanistan from the Taliban to the Taliban.

The second is the wavering of economic hegemony.

There is no doubt that the de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has affected all countries. The surge in global oil and gas prices has directly affected the economies of various countries, inflation has risen, supply chains have fallen into crisis, and the supply of chemical raw materials has been tight. Oil prices pushed up the U.S. CPI, the federal debt exceeded $39 trillion, and war spending increased the risk of fiscal collapse. Global de-dollarization has accelerated, and the war could trigger the collapse of the petrodollar, triggering an unprecedented US economic crisis and financial crisis.

We can expect the oil yuan to accelerate. China has long been proactive, our current energy self-sufficiency rate remains around 85%, and renewable energy is riding in the world. Coupled with the advantages of the whole industry chain and the advantages of new quality productivity, China is undoubtedly the most stable and determined country in this global crisis.

Third, the bankruptcy of the moral hegemony of the United States.

The United States ignored international law and openly enforced the law of the jungle, and the result was countered. The United States quickly transitioned from the “world’s policeman” to “lonely people.”

I have, by the way, many people complain that the United Nations is not working, but what we are seeing today is that many countries have publicly stated that this military operation is not authorized by the United Nations and therefore refuses to provide support. The moral authority of the UN Charter cannot be provoked, the challenger will be countered sooner or later, and as the century of change has accelerated, the rate of this counter-eating seems to be getting faster and faster.

The fourth is the collapse of the American alliance system.

European countries have refused to participate in Trump’s proposed escort operation in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump has publicly threatened that “the United States is considering withdrawing from NATO.” The Gulf states that paid high protection fees to the United States not only did not receive American protection, but became the main victims of the war. The United States does not negotiate with allies on unilateral risk, but today even a small Qatar, not even a small United Arab Emirates can not protect, the United States has any security credibility? NATO, which is long overdue from the historical stage, is not too far away from the days of the discrete frame.

A Al Jazeera columnist asked me, many international commentators think that China is the biggest beneficiary of the conflict. I said that there is an old saying in China, “The house of accumulation of good will have a celebration; the house of accumulation of evil will have an afterthought.” China has always presided over justice in the international arena and safeguarded the international rule of law, while also promoting global development with its own strong economic strength and safeguarding regional and world peace with its own strong national defense forces. The result is naturally a lot of help. With the delay of the war in Iran, the world will surely tilt to the east at a faster pace and to China. Opportunity always favors countries that are prepared, and China is one of those countries.