Coping with Hegemonic Decline: Prospects of America's Mid-and-Long term Strategy(Pan Yaling) Based on the analysis of the latest debates on the decline of American hegemony, the author argues that among American academic, policy, and media circles there exists, to a great extent, a consensus on American hegemonic decline. Such opinion underlies the basic assumptions of Americas midand longterm strategy. Considering that China will become the most likely challenger and Americas decline is full of uncertainty, the United States may plan a set of strategic goals in its mid and longterm strategy rather than defining a simple strategy to cope with the decline of American primacy. Therefore, America will have great strategic flexibility, will cost less, and become more practical to maintain its primacy. With these three characteristics, Americas mid and longterm strategy needs to make three kinds of preparation, including theoretical, emotional, and opinion preparation, institutional network building, and continuous strategic rebalancing. This approach is built on the significant strategic strength America still has, but if America ignores the potential restrictions, its strength might be lost, and the United States will eventually fail to cope with the hegemonic decline.