The Rise of China and The Current World Order - Essay Example

THE RISE OF CHINA AND THE CURRENT WORLD ORDER The Rise of China and the Current World Order Introduction The possibility of emergence of new world order has sparked a heated debate among scholars from different fields, including economic and political science. The question as to whether the rise of China will yield a new world order and upset the status quo has become a mantra in the recent past. The rapid economic growth of China and its active engagement with developing nations has not only enabled it to stamp authority in Asia, but also in other parts of the world. Many individuals are of the opinion that the American reign as the world superpower is nearing its extinction, while others have remained skeptical about the whole idea of China becoming the next world’s superpower in the near future. No one can object to the fact that the rise of China is already amongst the most dramatic events of the twenty first century. But will the rise of China really affect the current world order negatively? There are no qualms that with the strong rise of China both in economic and military dimensions, poses threat to the U.S. as the reigning global superpower. However, the rise of China is less likely to affect the current world order negatively as some people espouse. This paper explores the Rise of China, focusing on current global angst, the nature of Western world order, possible peaceful power shift and the conquest of the Western order, which surround the Chinese quest for the next world superpower. The Current Global Angst It is undeniable that China is passionately pursuing it quest of becoming the next world superpower (Xuetong 2006). In his work, Xuetong examines China’s rapid economic growth and overstatements about its superpower potential. China’s economy has grown tremendously following its 1970s extensive market reforms (Xing 2010). China has emerged as one of the biggest suppliers of manufactured goods globally, commanding a significant portion of the world market. The country has accumulated very high amounts of foreign reserves in decades following its economic policy reforms. China has also intensified its presence in developing nation through foreign direct investment and increased diplomacy with developing nations (Xuetong 2006). The spending on Chinese military has growing significantly over the previous decades, posing it as a major competitor to the United States not only in economic dimension, but also on military basis (Xing 2010). This strongly suggests a possible transmission of global superpower mantle to East. According to Ross and ZHU (2008), most researchers on international power transfers have founded their arguments upon power transition theory, which postulate that global power shifts are usually marred with violence. The authors assert the importance of satisfaction in power transition process, owing to the fact that there is high likelihood of war if the reigning superpower is not satisfied with the emerging competitors’ quest. Most power shifts in history have been rocked with violence leading to wars (Bennett & Stam 2004; DiCicco & Levy 1999; Lemke 2002). Because China’s growth poses a real threat to the political position of the United States in the world political sphere, it remains a big worry in many countries what the rise of China would yield in the coming decades (Shirk 2008). A fresh problem of power transition might be experienced when China surpasses the U.S. However, not all global power transitions have been marred with war. As Ross and ZHU (2008) denote, the Anglo-American transition during the closing period of the 19th century is substantial evidence that peaceful transition can occur between world powers. In the same order, there is a high likelihood that there will be a peaceful transition between China and united states if it ever happens that China overtakes the U.S as the world’s superpower in the coming decades. Further, China’s cooperation with strategic competitors is likely to thwart possible violence that has been characteristic of some major global power transitions (Dellios & Ferguson 2012). Therefore, the argument that the rise of China is likely to impose negative impact on global world order does not hold. The Nature of Western World Order During the postwar period, the Western order has established itself as a distinct order. The liberal nature of the Western oriented world order makes it highly accessible and resilient. The present Western order is deeply rooted and existing and emerging economies, both democratic and capitalist economies. The accommodating feature and global presence of the Western order makes it easy to join, but a nightmare to defeat. The Western order has over a long period of time exhibited its potential to spur global economic growth. Xing (2010) argues that China is already part of the Western order having discovered potential benefits that underlies the system. The Western order was designed is such a way that it is simultaneously integrative as well as expansive. The reigning Western order is founded on nondiscriminatory and open market policies, which encourage existing and emerging nations to pursue their economic growth ambitions within the system (Soeteman 2001). The accommodative nature of the Western order has seen coalition-based governance approach rather than its predecessors that were highly subjugated by one country (Zheng & Chan 2012). The Western order is designed is such a manner that it has several national powers working around the U.S. as the central engine of the entire order (Swazo 2002). Unlike the past world orders, the reigning Western order aggregates both democratic and capitalist nations, resulting into a geopolitical power. As such, any possible power transmission is likely to occur within the circumference of the order, quelling the possibility of replacing the current order with a new one (Swazo 2002). China itself is currently enjoying the fruits of the present global order. The present rapid growth that now poses China as a major threat to the current world order is in itself spurred by the Western order (Xing 2010; Womack 2010). Having realised high growth potential in the Western order, China reformed its economic policies, which have resulted into significant growth in decades following policy reformation. The reigning world order is rule-driven and promotes cooperation among states through United Nations. It assigns shared responsibility to member states across the world (Soeteman 2001). This together with many other incentives that lured China to join the liberal world order will most certainly restrain it from changing the world order but pursue its interest within the liberal global order (Womack 2010). Indeed, China is to continue pursuing economic growth and global political authority within the Western order (Zheng & Chan 2012). It would be difficult for an emerging economy to overturn the current Western order because many countries embrace it. It is thus irrelevant to say that the rise of China will have negative impact on the existing world order. Peaceful Global Power Shift The rise of China will not necessarily cause a tumult in the current world order. The reigning Western order has the capacity to ensure that a possible power shift form the U.S to China happens in a peaceful and harmonious manner that is beneficial to the reigning superpower (Wesley-Smith & Porter 2010). China is evidently in the route to become the next world superpower. Therefore, it is in the best interest of the United States to strengthen the Western order in such a manner that the global power shift will occur within the reigning world order rather than be overthrown by a new East-oriented world order (Babbin 2010). It is practical that the United States will not sit back and watch China overturn the Western world order (Womack 2010). Consequently, the United States will probably reinvest in the reigning global order in such a way that it becomes more supple and accommodative (Babbin 2010). The United States is likely to modify the reigning Western world order by enhancing its integrative, participative and restraining features. In the event that the current world order offers a satisfactory order to majority of world states, then its immortality in the foreseeable future is more of a certainty. Emerging powerful nations like China will thus find it more beneficial to operate within it rather than overthrow it (Xing 2010; Sieff 2009). As such, it is impractical to insinuate that the rise of China will negatively affect the current world order. The Conquest of the Western Order The success of the Western order is another reason that disowns the idea that the rise of China will negatively impact the current world order. With increasing economic and political influence of China and declining hegemonic features of the United States, the possibility of a future shift of world power remains imminent (Xing 2010). While it is possible for China to topple the United States from its current superpower position, it is very uncertain that it will manage to write off the Western order (VOLGY 2009). Despite China’s admirable economic growth in recent times, it is a drop of water in the ocean when pitted against the aggregate economy of OECD. Similarly, the rising Chinese military expenditure will fall far much behind OECD integrated military expenditure in the coming decades. Wesley-Smith and Porter argue that in the near future, “China is most unlikely to challenge the existing world order military, not least because of the vast gulf in military might between China and the United States” (p. 71). This clearly portrays the ability of capitalist nations to defend the reigning world order. Therefore, it would be a very intimidating task for China to overthrow the current world order, even if it manages to topple the United States as the world superpower. Conclusion The recent rise of China, both in economic and military terms, has sparked heated debate over the possibility of a new world order in the near future. There has been anxiety around the world over what a possible power shift from the United States to China might cause. While it remains absolutely true that China is passionately pursuing its course to become the next world’s superpower, it is very unlikely that it will manage to overturn the reigning Western world order. The accommodative, expansive and beneficial features of the Western order make it hard to replace but cheap to join. The Western order also has the potential to ensure a peaceful power transition, while restraining possible advancement of a new order. This makes the current world order resilient enough to withstand the threat posed by China. It is the untrue that the rise of China will negatively affect the current world order. Bibliography Babbin, J 2010, “How Obama is Transforming Americas Military from Superpower to Paper Tiger,” Encounter Books, New York. Bennett, DS & Stam, AC 2004, “The behavioural origins of war,” University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor. Dellios, R & Ferguson, RJ 2012, “Chinas Quest for Global Order: From Peaceful Rise to Harmonious World,” Lexington Books, Lanham. DiCicco, JM & Levy, JS 1999, “Power Shifts and Problem Shifts: The Evolution of the Power Transition Research Program,” The Journal of Conflict Resolution, vol. 43, no. 6, pp. 675-704. 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