President Donald Trump’s foreign policy direction could have lasting effects on America’s alliances and global leadership, and it could also speed up the shift to a multipolar world where China plays a bigger role.

That is according to Wu Xinbo, dean of the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai.

Speaking at a seminar hosted by the university on Tuesday, Wu said the Trump administration was “reshaping US foreign policy” – and it could be a turning point for the country as it prepares to mark 250 years since its founding.

Wu said the administration had pushed Washington towards a realist foreign policy while accelerating the erosion of its alliance system, particularly its transatlantic ties with Europe.

“Under Trump, the US alliance system has come under unprecedented strain … The question is whether the transatlantic partnership can be repaired after Trump. I think there may be some partial recovery, but it will never return to what it once was,” Wu said.

“One reason is that Europe’s confidence in the US is already gone, because Europeans know that once there has been one Trump, he will not be the last American leader like this. Therefore, Europe can no longer place its hopes in the US the way it did in the past.”