Minahil Shawal Afridi and Muhammad Behram Zia Khan Dawar
Ms. Minahil Shawal Afridi is a student of MPhil at the National Defence University, Islamabad.
Mr. Behram Zia Khan Dawar is an LLB student at the University of London.
DOI: http://DOI Number
Keywords: China-US competition, power transition theory, belt and road initiative, South-China sea, economic integration, debt-trap diplomacy, peaceful rise
Abstract
The 21st century is referred to as the Asian century by many International Relations scholars, where the rise of China has been one of the most important events in the global political arena. Chinese economic diplomacy in Asia, Latin America, and Africa through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been seen as a challenge to US interests and that of its allies in these regions. China’s bold and assertive policies in the South China Sea has led many in the US to believe that under the garb of this ‘peaceful rise’, China is slowly and gradually winning its turf. On the contrary, many scholars have also argued that the rise of China might strengthen a multi-polar world order based on economic interdependence and sustainable peace, allowing greater cooperation among world powers. However, this study argues that competition between an existing hegemon and an aspiring one has been a norm in international relations since antiquity. Therefore, the possibility of cooperation between China and the US is very limited. In this regard, the West is already raising concerns related to the rise of China. On the one hand, many consider China’s cooperation as a means to establish its hegemony through a debt trap while others view it as an attempt to promote mutual economic interests. Therefore, the study elucidates whether the rise of China threatens the existing global order through its imposition on weaker partner states with its growing economic interdependence and whether a rising China will threaten the US supremacy and change the current world order.
First Published
March 25, 2021
How to Cite
Minahil Shawal Afridi and Muhammad Behram Zia Khan Dawar, “Rise of China and the New International Order,” Regional Studies 39, no.1 (Spring 2021): 88-110, https://regionalstudies.com.pk/wp/article/rise-of-china-and-the-new-international-order/
Issue
Volume 39, Issue 1