For the past century or so, the U.S. has been a superpower, and its influence has been global. Facing the new decade from the year 2020, the U.S. should do several things to further develop and remain influential. Assuming it was my call, here’s how I would go about things. There will be an unprecedented change in the energy sector. In 2020, I will transform the U.S. into a real net exporter of energy, using mostly shale oil and LNG. Not only will this result in the U.S. relying less on the Persian Gulf region, but it can be a strategy to compete with Russia in Europe for the supply of natural gas and oil. The U.S. can sell more shale oil and LNG to European states, thus gradually making them more dependent on America. Moreover, I will manipulate the U.S.’s control over the world financial system to a greater extent, starting in 2020. Today, many developed nations are entering the digital world, and the U.S. should not be lagging behind. The U.S. should develop blockchain technology, allowing the country to monitor the transactional activities between various nations and important foreign companies. Additionally, the U.S. must compete with China in the area of digital currencies, as China is currently developing at a steady but more rapid pace in this field. Further, on the topic of technology, the U.S. will need to make progress both internally and externally. Internally, I will lead the U.S. to proactively develop 5G technology, and my hope would be that American companies like Apple will replace China as the world leader in this cutting-edge technology by 2020. Externally, the U.S. must act to confine China’s industrial upgrades by selling more U.S.-made devices and machines to China, because China has the capacity to supersede the U.S. as the top superpower. Militarily, the U.S. will engage in diplomacy in the Middle East and the South China Sea. In the Middle East, the U.S. must chiefly target Iran. As proven in 2019 and early 2020, Iran is bold enough to retaliate against the U.S. To solve the problem and the tension, I will organize the building of more military bases around the Persian Gulf to keep an eye on Iran. In the South China Sea, the U.S.’s navy will be navigating around the region to prevent China from controlling the “Ten-Dash Line.” That will be hazardous for the U.S. presence in that region. Last, but not least, speaking of China, I will pay close heed to the rise of that country, especially economically and militarily. As mentioned before, the U.S. will deploy an additional fleet to the South China Sea and the Malacca Strait, while also trying to restrict China’s industrial upgrades that are undoubtedly beneficial to their economy. Today, the U.S. is falling behind in Africa, and in the future the U.S. will spare part of the annual budget to gain a foothold in the continent. The U.S. will build harbors that possess stragetic significance like in Djibouti, and help African countries to construct basic infrastructure and transportation routes. We, just like China, cannot ignore the abundance of precious metals in that continent. Thus, we will not only cooperate with the African countries strategically, but we will also import certain amounts of precious metals, like gold. Facing the advent of 2020, we must work together to retain our status globally and set our ambitions as high as possible, hence allowing the U.S. to break new ground and make new breakthroughs.
