As expected, US President Donald Trump devoted his United Nations General Assembly speech to lashing out at China, with the novel codicil that doing so is a good basis for cooperation.

Although in fact, the US leader seemed to be advocating anarchy among nations. Flaunting his "America first" policy as a successful alternative to the "failed approaches of the past", he called upon all the UN members to put themselves first.

It is this open disdain for multilateralism at a time when the world is confronted with unprecedented common challenges that is increasingly making the US a pariah.

The US leader felt no qualms about displaying his contempt for the UN and its resolutions.

With no hint of irony or awareness of his country's past, he said he was proudly putting America first, while claiming others were pursuing global ambitions at the expense of their own people.

He also provided the answer to the inevitable question that when every country put itself first, how they can work together: might is right.

Boasting that the US is stronger now than ever before — "our weapons are at an advanced level like we've never had before" — and hinting that's why the country has been able to accomplish so much, he made it clear that it is the US way or the highway.

For those countries that will not follow Washington's lead, the approach is simple — pull the world back into an era of division.

So it is clear what he means by noting that "American prosperity is the bedrock of freedom and security all over the world" and "it is peace through strength". He is trying to shatter the modern global governance system, which the world has established at a heavy cost, and rebuild the US' hegemony.

That goes against the historical trend of the times, as the reform of the international system is to let the emerging market economies and developing countries have more say in the world, rather than allow one country to hog the stage. The might of major powers means they shoulder more responsibilities, it does not give them the right to dictate to others. That some global challenges have become more acute is not because of multilateralism, but unilateralism.

The incumbent US administration lacks vision and foresight, and it is bereft of inspiration, taking its guidance from a playbook of the past. Its capacity for duplicity, dishonesty and selfishness has been exposed in its handling of the outbreak of the novel coronavirus and its subsequent smearing of China in a bid to make it a patsy for its failings.

The US accounts for more than 20 percent of the world's COVID-19 deaths — over 200,000 as of Monday — despite having less than 5 percent of the world population and despite the US leader admitting he knew in the early days the seriousness of the threat posed by the virus. That the US leader continues with his blame game against China shames both the administration and the country.

The state of the nation under his leadership shows that putting America first does not mean putting the people first. That might be a portent to the "greatest years in our history" the world can look forward to if it heeds his call to follow the US' lead.