I agree with you Duff. There is a cost in maintaining USD hegemony, and hence not every nation wants to be in the position of being a global reserve currency. The USD system worked well for US when the benefit outweighs the cost, now due to irresponsible monetary expansion US is at a critical point where they can only raise new debt to service old debt that's due.
If U.S. didn't go down the path of using USD as a way of sanctioning eg kicking other countries out of swift to induce economic collapse ( eg in case of Russia for the Ukraine conflict) or using trade tariff as a tool to push for countries to buy more U.S. debt, the countries would have kept buying USD bonds as the benefit of doing so outweighs the risk or cost. USD had the effect of helping globalisation up to the point where China forged its own path to become a power in the financial world challenging US's position.
Prior to that point China and U.S. had a honeymoon period where China needed investment and offered cheap resources, where bulk of the money were made by U.S. companies. When China joined WTO and traded its way to accumulate wealth they gradually start to look for investment opportunities, and that's when China touched US's cheese, because investment was the cream of the crop. With tighter FX control and stock market control the U.S. Wall Street could play its tricks to create the boom bust scenario to make money off China, and that's when U.S. start to see China as a threat. Now free market here is really a trick, because U.S. had much larger funds it can take advantage of other countries if they openness up their financial markets, it will be like a casino asking you to open up your purse to play, the casino will always win in the end due to the size of their fund. Now, when China had similar amount of fund, US us now reversing and tightening its purse, because they could actually lose. Hence the reversal of globalisation and free open market. Hence their view in seeing China as a threat.
China on the other hand was quite clear on many occasions they don't want to be another global currency, as there are costs involved, they never intend to challenge US's position in the hegemony, but because the West's lack of understanding of Chinese philosophy or mentality, they continue to look at China from a zero sum game theory, Chinese philosophy after thousands of years already saw a dead end to hegemony rather they seek harmony as the long term path to growth. Yet the West don't understand that. In reality, it will take China to destroy China and US to destroy US, the two mega countries can only destroy itself within, they can't defeat each other as they are just too far apart, with strategic room to manoeuvre and defeat any invading forces at any long term military struggles ( take Japan's long term occupation prior and during WWII as an example).
So the only way to grow is to work with others, take China's role in helping African nations - the African nations under China's help got infrastructure much needed to grow a modern economy, the debt for building infrastructure is paid with the money made from a growing economy, once the economy of the African nations are developed there is now a friendly economy China can trade into - and at the start the infrastructure build help China retain talent and use oversupply of base materials at home such as steel iron etc. The West always view this in a negative light, calling it debt trap, they rather the "market" take it's course, see huge waves of unemployment some company collapse then regrow in a cycle. Yet if you are Chinese enough you will see there is huge wastage, why can't you redeploy existing resources more smartly and not waste it? Save all the social unrest, help a potential trade partner and continue to grow? The Western philosophy always think China is going to collapse because China didn't follow strictly the Western philosophy, they felt their way across the river rock by rock step by step without taking any leap of fate. And now it has in many ways build up a country without having to invade another country. I think US really will need a revolution or a separation into different states as current Fedral system is already failing states (the USD as a currency might dnd one day, there is already tax law changes at state level allowing gold to be treated and taxed as a currency not a commodity). interesting times ahead.
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