The New Expansionists: How Trump’s Monroe Doctrine Empowers Xi’s Chinese Dream

On the morning of January 3rd, 2026, the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro—an accused narco-terrorist—was captured by United States special forces in Caracas, Venezuela. The operation carried out was called “Operation Absolute Resolve” under orders of United States President Donald J. Trump. Many people across the world either celebrated the removal of a Venezuelan dictatorship or critiqued a violation of international law. One country that is significantly affected by the sudden American interference in Venezuela is the People’s Republic of China. 

According to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (the country’s official name), the Chinese state has had a trade relationship with Venezuela since 1944. This has continued even through the Chinese Communist Party’s victory in 1949 and through today. Trade significantly increased more recently during the presidency of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. In the year 2016, Sino-Venezuelan trade relationships amounted to $7.2 billion. 

The American operation in Caracas has affected Chinese influence in South America. China is the second biggest trading partner with Latin America after the United States, and the Chinese government fears that increased American involvement in Venezuela will push back China from Latin America. President Trump of the United States has said that he attacked Venezuela because he thought that the foreigners were disregarding the Monroe Doctrine—an American foreign policy principle that stated that the Americas were in the sphere of influence of the United States. Though originally made to prevent European colonialism in the Americas, the Monroe Doctrine brought forth American colonialist practices in the past. During the Cold War, American presidents used the Monroe Doctrine to prevent the spread of communism. Unfortunately, those efforts allowed the CIA to initiate coup d’etats in countries like Guatemala and Chile. Those coups unfortunately installed brutal dictatorships in those countries. Furthermore, President Kennedy used the doctrine during the Bay of Pigs invasion, which horribly failed as Castro’s government still remained and tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union grew.

This claim by President Trump—of following the Monroe Doctrine—further complicates the global order as the doctrine clearly establishes spheres of influence. According to ODI Global, president Trump’s support of the Monroe Doctrine gives China a reason to invade or terrorize Taiwan as it may consider the Republic of China (Official name of Taiwan) as part of its sphere of influence.

According to Jacob Grow of Medium, dictators always become expansionists. President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China has mentioned his Chinese dream to the Chinese people since 2012, including his goal for the GDP per capita of China to grow. What complicates this is that president Xi is an authoritarian. His decisions will not openly be questioned. As China’s “sphere of influence” is not explicitly declared, President Xi—in order to achieve the Chinese Dream—will likely attempt to invade the Republic of China, and if that goes successfully, the entirety of central and south Asia may fall victim to Chinese expansionism.

When pressed about whether the U.S.’s actions in Venezuela set a precedent that could encourage similar aggression by China, the Trump administration has dismissed the potential Chinese expansionism. According to the New York Times, recently, President Trump has delayed a package of arms sales to Taiwan. That shows that there is no sense of urgency to stop an expansionist China. Without this defensive package, Taiwan has fewer defenses against a potential Chinese threat. Also, on a call between President Xi and President Trump, President Xi has said, more like given a warning, that “the U.S. must handle arms sales to Taiwan with extreme caution.” On February 16th, President Trump told reporters further that he must decide what he wants to do with the arms sales of Taiwan given that President Xi is against it, showing his contemplation.

Despite the American government’s dismissal of concerns about China, Chinese expansionism could very much become an actual threat after American actions in Venezuela. Operation Absolute Resolve has given the Chinese state the justification that international law can be ignored and expansionism can take more priority than international peace.

Even though the situation seems bad, things can be turned around. The United States—a country with great diplomatic influence across the world—can still stop this potential Chinese expansionist nightmare if it plays its cards right. It must start to accept that China is a threat to American values and its expansionism can be catastrophic. Arms sales to Taiwan should not be stopped or delayed and the US should prioritize supporting this important ally. In Venezuela, the U.S. should support a new leader who has the best in mind for the Venezuelan people, like Maria Corina Machado, leader of the Venezuelan opposition. After that, the United States should leave Venezuela alone, showing to China and the world that the American operation in Venezuela was for the removal of a horrible dictator and not for the establishment of American expansionism.