China’s rise and the international order

Treść źródłowa

China’s rapid economic rise has had a major impact first and foremost on China’s people, but increasingly on the rest of the world. These consequences are increasingly geopolitical in nature. Indeed, today we are living in the era of “geoeconomics.”It is no surprise that China, as its economic weight in the world rose in the past decades, also gained in diplomatic, military and soft power. In the past decade, it is also increasingly keen to help shape the international order, and it has gained the confidence to let go of Deng Xiaoping’s guidance to “bide your time, hide your capabilities, never take the lead.” Thanks for reading Bert’s Newsletter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.Under President Xi Jinping, China increasingly presents itself as a successful alternative to the “western” development paradigm, and sees the liberal international order that was created after World War II no longer as cast in stone. Not unlike other countries, it seeks to change this order to suit its goals and objectives, but this is a far cry from rejecting this order altogether. In recent decades, China has been a principal beneficiary of the existing international order. Without it, its economic success would not have been possible, as it provided the peaceful environment and open global economy that enabled the country to thrive. As its wealth and power rises, China seeks to amend the economic order to an extend we are yet to fully understand. This contrasts sharply with the Russian Federation, which considers itself a loser in the existing order, and with its inva…