A Chinese player won the World Snooker Championship for the second year in a row, a win for Beijing as it looks to consolidate its soft power on the global stage.

Wu Yize became the tournament’s second-youngest winner in a competition traditionally dominated by Europeans. The victory confirms China’s growing status in the sport and comes as Beijing looks to build up its global standing just as the US withdraws internationally, the Financial Times’ chief foreign affairs commentator said.

If Washington is to counter a rising China, it will require “rebuilding” US soft power. “Otherwise Trump may find himself well and truly snookered by Xi,” Gideon Rachman wrote.