If they make a peg to gold even slightly believably, then it could damage the dollar. I doubt anyone will believe a peg until it survives a real test, though.

Competition isn't necessarily a bad thing. It has the possibility to be a catalyst that drives better performance to keep up.

Not exactly countries I would put faith in...

The world has changed since 1971. Fort Knox is empty. China has won the trade war. USA cannot now fight a war of any scale without Chinas support and supply of refined rare earths. China is Irans and Russia and Saudis biggest customer today. Note all three are members of BRICS and mBridge. Monetary dominance inevitably follows trade dominance. China already provides trade payments routing for Russia, Iran and others outside the USD/SWIFT system- the USD/SWIFT system is at the same time dependent upon Chinas participation since GFC when China became a member of the IMFs reserve currency issuers board because Chinas economy was the only thing holding up the sinking USD/IMF/World Bank/SWIFT legacy system. China has the US over a barrel and is patiently developing its global institutional and protocol dominance (spearheaded by BRICS) that logically follows from it now being the dominant productive economy. US Exceptionalists are mostly in tragic denial that their dominance is waning and a new world order is emerging...but Trump is already abandoning free trade and NATO and embracing state capitalism and autocracy in his desperate attempt to hold back the tide. USA cannot now fight a war of any scale without Chinas support and supply of refined rare earths The petrodollar emperor has no clothes and China is giving the world time to adjust to the new reality and consequences of its serial Trillion dollar Trade Surpluses and mercantile supply chains hegemony.