Addressing his party's national convention on Thursday, US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said he will restore the feeling of safety US people fear they're losing and vowed to put the United States first and replace globalism with "Americanism".

No matter how negatively people look upon him, he is viewed as "candid" by many, because he at least points out some of the issues that are plaguing the US, such as poverty and violence, immigration and terrorism, as well as its economic woes and shortage of jobs.

Trump was at first considered an "entertainment figure" by the US elite, but his success has been voicing the discontent of middle- and lower-class voters better than other Republican candidates.

However, most of Trump's promises are unlikely to materialize in the end given that many are far-fetched and any big policy adjustments will hurt interest groups and thus invite resistance.

Even if Trump is elected president, the US is unlikely to make major changes to its NATO policies and Asian strategies.

But if Trump loses to Hillary Clinton, some questions he has raised will continue to resonate within US society. And although the US may not carry out major policy adjustments as vowed by Trump, it is no longer powerful enough to support globalism and may have to return to Americanism.

Whoever becomes the next US president, the US' current situation and ordinary people's desires for better jobs and lives will affect its future policymaking. The Cold War mindset may still dominate US elite groups, but there will be limited space for them to sacrifice the huge interests of Sino-US trade and push Washington to go to extremes in pursing geopolitical confrontation with Beijing.

The US political system determines that any presidential candidate's promises are aimed at winning votes rather than being pledges of real change. Trump is no exception.

(China Daily USA 07/25/2016 page11)