China aims to make the world in its own image
Beijing’s ‘desire’ is ‘to create a geopolitical environment that is more conducive to its interests’
China is desperate to become the dominant economic and military superpower in the world. Beijing’s plan is to roll back democratic-led organizations, which were put in place after World War II and formed the bedrock of global governance.
Instead, an opaque system favored by the ruling Communist Party would act as an antidote to the current liberal world-order. Democratic values, open markets and international cooperation would radically alter. Military alliances would disappear.
“China’s desire [is] to create a geopolitical environment that is more conducive to its rise and interests,” academics Andrew Latham and Arta Moeini wrote in Unravelling China’s Grand Strategy for the Institute for Peace and Diplomacy.
“China seeks to shape a global order that reflects its priorities and values without triggering either direct or by-proxy confrontation with the United States. This approach enables China to expand its influence,” they pointed out.
Major report highlights [China’s] lack of transparency.
A glimpse into the future:
- But the Party’s obsession with total control at home is alienating possible new friends abroad and undermining Beijing’s ambitions.
- Last month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese officials had “stopped publishing hundreds of data points” crucial to the state of the economy.
- It smacked of state-run manipulation to sugar-coat statistics and bury bad news.
Delve deeper: China is also at the center of a major report, which highlights a lack of “transparency” in overseas lending. It is likely to include nations linked to Beijing’s flagship foreign policy program, the Belt and Road Initiative.
Between the lines: “We were surprised to find that almost half of China’s [public and publicly guaranteed] lending portfolio, nearly US$420 billion across 57 countries, is collateralized,” Christoph Trebesch, of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, said.
Big picture: “As security, Chinese lenders strongly prefer liquid assets – in particular, cash deposits in bank accounts located in China. They also want visibility and control over revenue streams,” he wrote in the study released this week.
China Factor comment: In short, transparency, trust and team-work would be absent from China’s new world order, replaced by secrecy, strong-arm tactics and servitude.