President Donald Trump's policies have placed China as a leader on the international stage, according to Ian Bremmer, founder and president of political consultancy Eurasia Group.

A year into his presidency, Trump's priority of American jobs and the economy, a doctrine called "America First," has resulted in a broad U.S. withdrawal from international engagement, reflected by the nation's exit of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement and the Paris climate change accord.

"Trump is a unilateralist," Bremmer told CNBC on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Da Nang, Vietnam.

That stance has presented Chinese President Xi Jinping with ample opportunities to boost his country's global leadership and further Beijing's superpower ambitions. For example, Beijing joined the remaining 11 TPP member states for discussions in March after Washington left the pact in January.

Many countries are experiencing a clear shift toward Beijing in the absence of other strong leaders, Bremmer said on Thursday. Not only is the world's most populous nation "writing checks," it boasts "much more control of their economy than a western advanced industrial democracy," he noted.