If there has to be hegemony, the US is definitely preferable to China.

"The latest edition of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore witnessed considerable hand-wringing about the US commitment to a 'rules-based economy," wrote Srinath Raghavan. Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany said that Europe could not depend on the US any longer and "really must take our fate into our own hands". That is because Donald Trump accused 23 European countries for not paying their share of NATO funds. "Twenty-three of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying for their defence," said Trump. Initially Trump refused to commit to NATO's Article 5, but has done so recently.  Trump wants Germany to reduce the huge trade surplus it runs with the US. American commentators claim that Trump has "sounded the death-knell for American leadership". David Frum argued that US leadership has to be "exercised with a view to something bigger than the selfish interests of the United States". But, is it leadership or is it hegemony? Hegemony implies coercion and the US prefers to use soft power. Why does Europe desire US hegemony? Perhaps, because the US guarantees security, without the need for Europe to spend vast sums of money on defence. Perhaps, Trump is right to be angry when Germany runs a trade deficit with China while running a surplus with the US. It seems like a transfer of US wealth to China. Unfair. In fact, Germany runs a trade surplus with the rest of the world and last year had a record surplus of $270 billion, the highest in the world. Germany does it by keeping wages low, levying high taxes, which reduce consumer spending, and by strictly controlling government expenditure. How is all this important for us in India? Because we have a long border with a most dangerous hegemon, which is China. The US has a free press that forces its armed forces to obey some rules. China has no such qualms. Bradley Manning, now Chelsea Manning, leaked documents showing US killings and torture, but no dissent is possible in China. Even representing someone in court can bring arrest and torture. China has banned Muslim names and beards in Xinjiang province, where Muslim Uighurs live. China has conceived a devilish plan to enslave nations, which it calls One Belt, One Road, or OBOR. Sri Lanka has already fallen into the trap but that is nothing compared to what China is planning with Pakistan, which is to make it into a colony. If there has to be hegemony by one nation the US is much more preferable to the uncivilized barbaric Chinese. India is in grave danger.