27 Dec 2017
Policy Paper (13)

The China model and the new world order

Yong Wang

Since Chinese leader Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, Beijing’s policy has been to work for a new type of globalization and a new community of shared human destiny. As an example, the country is pushing forward the Belt and Road Initiative or One Belt One Road (OBOR) mainly in the Eurasian continent to promote investment in infrastructure. China is also proposing new concepts of international relations and global governance. According to different forecasts, China will become the world’s largest economy by 2030. This enlightening development experience shows that the Chinese system is extremely adaptable and flexible. Also, while it brings to the world expanded market opportunities and outbound investment, China has dispatched the largest number of international peacekeeping forces among the permanent members of the UN Security Council, and is proving itself a global leader in helping to resolve pressing international security threats, such as with North Korea.

China’s development experience and the global governance initiatives it has led have provided the world with more choices. The influence of a rising China is generally constructive if we are expecting a pluralistic and inclusive world, and a fair and just global governance system in the 21st century. If we overcome the fear about differences of ideology and development models, and work for building a community of shared human destiny as proposed by China, then this century will be a hopeful one for mankind, despite with many challenges ahead.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Professor Yong Wang is Director of the Center for International Political Economy and Professor at the School of International Studies, Peking University. He is also a Distinguished Fellow of the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto. He is the author of International Political Economy in China: A Global Conversation (co-edited with Greg Chin and Margaret Pearson), The Political Economy of International Trade, US-China Economic Relations, American Politics and Making of Foreign Policy (co-authored), and co-editor of The European Union’s Engagement with Transnational Policy Networks. Professor Wang has widely published on the topics of Chinese political economy, foreign policy, China-US relations, regional cooperation, international political economy, World Trade Organization, and global governance.