Role of China in the Transition of Globalization: Fostering or Preventing a More Just and Stable World?

Abstract

In this article, I first recap the major downsides of globalization which clearly inhibit the development of a more just and stable world, hence setting the stage for its transition (re-globalization). Then, I examine the changing role and influence of China in the course of globalization and its current transition by following an analytical framework of institutional change. Specifically, I describe the process where China has evolved from a selective follower/imitator of international criteria/orders to an active innovator in proposing alternatives like the Belt and Road Initiative and internationalization of the yuan to the Global South. These actions have unarguably accelerated the process of re-globalization. Nevertheless, while the initial results are positive, whether a more just and stable world could be ultimately realized will be determined by whether the compatibility of the economic culture of China with other societies could be sustained through recognition by their mass communities, and also consensus from the other world powers.

Keywords:

• Belt and Road Initiative
• economic culture
• globalization
• institutional change
• re-globalization
• the yuan

JEL Classification Codes:

• B52
• F55
• F63
• F68
• O24

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 Calculated with data released by the World Trade Organization (n.d.). According to this set of data, value of international trade increased by almost 400 times between 1950 and 2022. I chose the period of 1982 for ease of comparison with other data presented in this article.

2 Calculated with data released by the UNCTD in the World Investment Report (2005 and 2023).

3 Calculated with data released by Ritchie and Roser (2020). The emission volume increased by over six times from 1950 to 2021.

4 The first four SEZs were approved in 1980 (see for example, Yeung, Lee, and Kee 2009, 223-224).

5 Data derived from Macrotrends (n.d.).

6 Data derived from the National Bureau of Statistics of China (1998, 2003, 2022).

7 Data for 2002 derived from Cheng and Ma (2010, 554), and 2021 from Statista (2023).

8 This argument could be verified by evidence and discussions in various studies on the progress and roles of the SEZs in the economic reform and development of China (see, for example, Yeung, Lee, and Kee 2009).

9 Calculated with data released by Ritchie and Roser (2020). The share of the United States of America fell from 23.5% in 1982 to 13.5% in 2021.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ricardo C. S. Siu

Ricardo C.S. Siu is an associate professor of business economics at the University of Macau (China).