As tensions between Washington and Beijing intensify under the Trump and Xi administrations, foreign policy analysts are raising concern that the two powers' rivalry could crowd out all other frameworks for organising international affairs. The danger, observers argue, lies not only in the risk of direct conflict between the two superpowers, but in the way their competition may force every global issue — from trade to climate to security — to be filtered through a single bipolar lens. Such a dynamic would leave little room for multilateral cooperation or independent foreign policy, particularly among smaller nations caught between the two blocs.