The Rise of China on the Current World Order - Essay Example

The Rise of China on the Current World Order Introduction The end of the Cold War saw major restructuring ofcollaborative and cooperative relationships by various states around the world. According to Volgy, Šabič, Roter and Gerlak (2009), the new world order saw the views of a majority of states that believed in multilateral organisational context as being salient to pursuance of collaborative world objectives. As such, intergovernmental organisations have become a critical way to assess the turbulent nature of international relations. The current world order has been attributed to Presidents Bush and Gorbachev, founded on the rule of law and adhering to the principle of collective security (Russet & Sutterlin, 2013). The fact that a majority of major economic powers hold strong preference for the current world order should not be surprising because of the lessons learnt from the disturbances in the 20th century that shook international politics, causing a rise of new institutional arrangements. As such, even before the end of World War II, there were efforts aimed at creating world constitutional order. America and other industrialised countries have entered into an age where they experience profound transformation since the international economy emerged in the period around the 17th and 18th centuries. The rise of the Asian economy, specifically China, has greatly influenced international affairs. In fact, Lampton (2008) notes that China’s re-emergence as a key world economic and political actor has received much recognition globally. The size of China’s market and its integration into the world economy has been a source of many opportunities and uncertainties at equal measures. There have been concerns regarding its currency, global trade and appetite for energy (Bergsten, Freeman, Lardy & Mitchell, 2008). Furthermore, concerns have been raised with regards to China’s policies on finance, resource management, food security and commodity prices as affecting millions of people outside its boundaries. In fact, Xing compares it to America’s “erstwhile role” making it an “indispensable country” (2010, n.p.). Therefore, the rise of China would definitely have a negative impact on the current world order. First, an analysis of China’s political climate, influenced by the school of thought of modernisation, indicates that the country would shake up the current world order. This school of thought founded towards the end of the 1970s brought China into an economic marketisation that would cause the country to experience political liberalisation. In the 1980s, there was increased confidence that China would experience a second revolution. However, Xing (2010) notes that the June 4 1989 incident quashed the expectation of China’s adoption of West-like democracy with the country resisting political liberation. Thus, the political China is an implication of a political authoritarianism. This undemocratic China is what threatens to destabilise the current world order. It is more worrying that the country is a major attraction for many developing countries seeking to learn how to manage international political economies and society-market-state relations. This follows what Xuetong (2006) documents as economic development success of China spanning three decades. It has been widely feared that China does not conform to the basic principles on dependent relationships between economic growth and property rights; market economy and rule of law; and economic order and currency flow. Such could negatively impact on the existing world order. The constant revolutionary transformations of the socialist China gives evidence on the negative impact of China’s rise poses to the world order. According to Xing (2010), the entire 20th century had China as the only country that experienced revolutionary transformation amidst great turbulences like the Republic Revolution, Second World War, Cold War, Korea War and Vietnam War among others. This was also the time of immense political, social and economic transformations as a result of the 1978 economic reform. The Chinese communist revolution stands out as a global legacy in attainment of the modern economy. However, critics observe that had China not adopted the Marxist theory, it would have experienced more rapid development than its Western counterparts (Gordham, 2014). Such arguments have been criticised as the ideal image for China in the eyes of the threatened West. Despite being marred by criticisms, it would be beneficial to acknowledge the ability of the nation to stand such turbulences to attain major transformative achievements in socio-economic and political spheres. It is the socialism of China and its ability to change itself when it chooses to do so in spite of the environmental turbulences that makes the economy threatening to the world order. Thirdly, a focus on the economic China supports its threat to the world order. Historically, capitalism has been associated with the organic development of Western civilisation, but the current capitalism system by the West is relatively contemporary (Xing, 2010). The world is gradually shifting back to the East with China, the Middle Kingdom, being the major driving force. The post-Mao period saw China experience rapid economic growth in international trade, international relations and regional integration causing uncertainties. It has strongly rivalled America and other countries as a preferred foreign direct investment destination (Bergsten et al., 2008). A shift in demand and supply by China causes global price changes of commodities resulting to adjustments by other countries. The country holds the largest reserve of foreign currency in the world. The economy’s contribution to the welfare of other countries has been likened to that of the 19th century Great Britain and the 20th century United States (Lampton, 2008). It is paradoxical to see the Chinese economy being integrated into the lives of the West with the West keen to engage China on critical global socio-economic issues. This strengthening of China’s comparative advantage and growing share of global resources and wealth that sends red flags on its prospective impact on world order. Finally, the historical-cultural China provides a history of the country’s worldwide influence in the past and still in the present. Many European intellectuals were influenced by literal studies of China’s cultural philosophy, literature and history, a fact that could be traced even to date. The then leading figures such as Voltaire, Quesnay and Leibniz drew much inspiration from the Chinese political organisation and society. They looked up to China for guidance on institutional development, moral instruction and evidence to support their causes of meritocracy, benevolent absolutism and agro-economics (Xing, 2010). Moreover, China had great achievements in medicine, science and technology, with inventions in printing, paper making, magnetic compass and gunpowder greatly influencing its civilisation. The Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644), for example, had maritime expeditions across the Indian Ocean as early as 1405. Its navy had over 3,800 ships, the largest and most advanced fleet then. However, critics argue that the defeat of China in the Opium War (1839 – 1842) made the country go back on civilisation (Xuetong, 2006). Despite such arguments, it would not go unnoticed the fact that China has a rich cultural history that threatens its integration into the current world order. From the time of its contact with the West, China has remained an attraction and at the same time a concern for a majority of the Western economies. Even with its current integration into the capitalist world economy, China has found it difficult to be accommodated by a majority of Western powers. Its rise threatens the current world order. The four nexus construct as given in this paper, encompassing the political, revolutionary socialist, economic and historical-cultural China gives a critical analysis of how the rise of China threatens to negatively impact on the current world order. Its resistance to political liberalisation compounded by attraction to many developing nations threatens to give rise to global authoritarianism. The economic power it has and a rich historical and cultural background threatens to make the country independent of other economies against the dictates of the current global order. This would further be supported by its revolutionary socialist success amidst major global shake-ups. In order to accommodate one another, the West and China, the rising power, would have to engage in a long period of tension, struggles and adjustments. Otherwise, the economy threatens to negatively impact on the current world order. References Bergsten, C. F., Freeman, C., Lardy, N. R. & Mitchell, D. J. (2008). China’s rise: Challenges and opportunities. Washington, DC: Peterson Institute for International Economics. Gordham, P. (2014). An emerging new world order. The Cairo Review of Global Affairs. Retrieved 10 April 2014 from http://www.aucegypt.edu/ Lampton, D. M. (2008). The three faces of Chinese power: Might, money and minds. Berkeley: University of California Press. Russet, B. & Sutterlin, J. S. (2013). The U.N. in a new world order. Council of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 10 April 2014 from http://www.foreignaffairs.com/ Volgy, T. J., Šabič, Z. Roter, P. & Gerlak, A. K. (2009). Mapping the new world order. West Sussex, PO: John Wiley & Sons. Xing, L. (Ed.). (2010). The rise of China and the capitalist world order. Surrey, GU: Ashgate Publishing. Xuetong, Y. (2006). The rise of China and its power status. Chinese Journal of International Politics, 1 (1), 5 – 33. Read More