This chapter introduces a new framework for understanding US–China rivalry through the concepts of economic weight and displacement. It argues that China has economically displaced the US in much of Latin America by becoming an alternative provider of goods and services, despite not surpassing the US globally. The author develops a theory emphasizing the role of local agency in target countries in shaping this process. Economic displacement is presented as a gradual shift where China’s economic influence surpasses that of the US. The chapter outlines how this displacement may erode US political leverage through deteriorating public opinion, changing elite perspectives, and diminished influence in international organizations. By focusing on structural power rather than intentionality, this framework offers new insights into the dynamics of great power competition in the developing world.