At the end of Tim Burton's 3D blockbuster Alice in Wonderland, the Red Queen, ruler of Wonderland, sees her army turn against her after her monster the Jabberwocky was killed.

The U.S. is a little like the Red Queen. It has been undisputed world leader for the past two decades and is under the illusion that the world order will never change.

But in recent years, a string of events – September 11th, the Iraq war, and the global financial crisis – have reminded the U.S. that being the world's boss is not that easy. Now the currency dispute with China has revealed the dollar, its "Jabberwocky," is not as powerful as was thought.

It is high time for Washington to think about what it will do when its "Jabberwocky" dies.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, speaking at Columbia University in New York, warned Washington that it cannot run the world alone.

At the end of March, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, speaking at Columbia University in New York, warned Washington that it cannot run the world alone and that the dollar is not the only currency in the world. "The world needs an open America, a generous America, an America that shows the way, an America that listens," he said.

Barack Obama assured him that competition between Boeing and Airbus for a US Air Force contract would be "free, fair and transparent."

But the carrot approach did not work on Sarkozy. And the U.S. is facing similar troubles all over the world. Japan has given up hope of forging an alliance with the U.S. and shifted its attention back to Asia. The UK publicly criticizes U.S. currency policies. France and Germany are grumbling about exchange rate issues. Even worse, France is making no move to help as the U.S. struggles in the Afghan quagmire. After Sarkozy made his speech in New York, many thought France will be the next to turn its back on the U.S.

Sarkozy caused a stir, but the Associated Press tried to present a picture of harmony, emphasizing that with the president of France at his side, President Obama had boosted his chances of achieving international sanctions against Iran.

Meanwhile, Russian newspaper Pravda gloated over the rift pointing out that France is a traditional enemy of the Anglo-Saxon powers. Cherishing long-term ambitions of world leadership, France does not fear the U.S. because it also has nuclear weapons.

When Sarkozy was elected the president of France, he proclaimed "NATO is ours" and affirmed that Europe would play the leading role in the alliance. But the U.S. – the "Red Queen" of NATO – remained so powerful that the other members kept their heads down.

It was just like the movie plot. All the people around the Red Queen wore fake noses, ears and stomachs to flatter the queen who had an extraordinarily big head. But when the queen got into trouble, they immediately dropped their disguises.

Mr. Sarkozy simply took off his fake nose and spoke frankly during his American tour. We have not yet arrived at Kenneth Timmerman's prediction of "the French betrayal of America." But whether France eventually grows away from the U.S. depends on how the latter listens to the former.

The author is a researcher with the Institute of Journalism and Communication, at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

(This article was translated by Chen Xia.)