China and the Global Economic Order

Having long remained a passive presence within multilateral economic organisations, China recently changed its stance when the United States was faced with a major financial crisis. The present article re-examines China’s recent initiatives in matters of global economic governance from a long-term perspective. From this analysis it will emerge that in parallel with its economic takeoff, China has progressively shifted from a stance in favour of the global economic order – as defined and imposed following the Second World War – to a simple reformist approach that did not fundamentally challenge the established order, and then more recently to an increasingly overt revisionist approach, accompanied by the establishment of new institutions under Chinese influence. That being said, while China’s strategy is becoming more offensive, it remains fundamentally experimental in nature and the end goal remains unclear. Under the current conditions, it is far from certain that we are heading for a new global economic order where China rules supreme