President Donald Trump gestures to China's President Xi Jinping during a business leaders event in November 2017.

President Donald Trump gestures to China's President Xi Jinping during a business leaders event in November 2017.

While America retained its place as the region’s top superpower, its 10-point lead on China two years ago has been halved, according to the Sydney-based Lowy Institute’s Asia Power Index for 2020, which ranks 26 nations and territories. .

“lost prestige” due to its poor response to the pandemic, multiple trade disputes and President Donald Trump’s moves to withdraw from multilateral deals and agencies, according to Herve Lemahieu, the study’s research chief and director of Lowy’s Asian Power and Diplomacy Program. .

And on the other hand, obviously it will take many more years to recover from the economic fallout of the pandemic.”.

Source: Lowy Institute Asia Power Index.

“Asia will learn to cope without the United States if Trump wins a second term,” he added

Source: Lowy Institute Asia Power Index 2020

The country gained points in cultural and diplomatic influence due to favorable perceptions of its domestic response to the virus, with daily infections slowing to a trickle. It also boosted its economic relationships score after this year securing its 14th free-trade deal, with neighbor Indonesia

The index measures power using 128 indicators including economic relations, defense spending, internal stability, information flows and projected future resources.