The globaliser dragon: how is China changing economic globalisation?

Abstract

There are many studies on the effects of both economic globalisation and the rise of China. These core issues of the contemporary international agenda entail major economic, military, environmental, social and cultural transformations in most nations. While there is also an abundant literature on how globalisation supported the rise of China, there are scarce publications on how China became one of the primary drivers of globalisation. This article assumes that understanding the power of globalisation over countries is as crucial as assessing the power of certain countries over the process. In this sense, it uses the recently created ‘theory of globalisers’ to analyse how is China transforming contemporary economic globalisation. The conclusion is that China became an ‘economic globaliser’ in the twenty-first century. As the largest exporter, the second largest importer, the third largest provider of foreign direct investments, and a major supplier of high-tech goods, the Asian giant is a vital partner for several economies in different continents. In this context, Beijing’s globalisation strategy aims at both securing the benefits of globalisation and reforming the international economic order, but without a revolutionary stance.

Keywords:

• Globalisation
• globalisers
• China
• governance
• international trade

Notes

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2. Magalhães, “Globalizadores e a Globalização Comercial.”

3. See Held et al., Global Transformations.

4. Johnson and Joslyn, Political Science Research Methods; King, Keohane and Verba, Designing Social Inquiry; and Popper, Conjecturas e refutações.

5. King, Keohane and Verba, Designing Social Inquiry, 7.

6. Sartori, “Concept Misformation in Comparative Politics.”

7. Held et al., Global Transformations; and Keohane and Nye, Power and Interdependence.

8. Magalhães, “Globalizadores e a Globalização Comercial.”

9. Held et al., “Rethinking Globalization,” 68.

10. See Hirst and Thompson, Globalização em Questão, 18, 26.

11. Ibid.

12. Magalhães, “Globalizadores do Século XXI,” 89.

13. Magalhães, “Globalizadores e a Globalização Comercial,” 69.

14. Held et al., Global Transformations.

15. UNCTAD, UNCTADstat.

16. Ibid.

17. Ibid.

18. Ibid.

19. Ibid.

20. Ibid.

21. Ibid.

22. Ibid.

23. Ibid.

24. Ibid.

25. Ibid.

26. Ibid.

27. Ibid.

28. Ibid.

29. Starrs, “The Chimera of Global Convergence”; Beckeley, “China’s Century?”; Dan and Murphree, Run of the Red Queen; Dittmer, “China’s Rise, Global Identity,” 217, 221; Xing, People’s Republic of China’s High-Tech Exports; and Zweig, “Rise of a New ‘Trading Nation,’” 38.

30. China, China Statistical Yearbook 2016.

31. Lucena and Bennett, “China in Brazil,” 50; Li, “Expansion of China’s Global Hegemonic Strategy,” 18; CNI, Investimentos Estrangeiros Diretos no Brasil.

32. See Beckeley, “China’s Century?,” 12; and Xing, People’s Republic of China’s High-Tech Exports, 9.

33. UNCTAD, UNCTADstat.

34. Porter et al., “International High Tech Competitiveness,” 187.

35. Magalhães, “Globalizadores e a Globalização Comercial.”

36. Ghemawat, Mundo 3.0; and Sawaya, “China: uma estratégia de inserção,” 210.

37. World Bank, “World Bank Open Data.”

38. WIPO, “Statistical Country Profiles.”

39. Chinese data from their Ministry of Education’s website as of October 1, 2017; analysis from Majumder, “Where Does China Stand.”

40. Yan, “Return for Dreams.”

41. UNCTAD, UNCTADstat.

42. World Bank, “World Bank Open Data”; and IMF, “IMF Principal Global Indicators.”

43. Held et al., Global Transformations; and Hirst and Thompson, Globalização em Questão.

44. IMF, “IMF Principal Global Indicators.”

45. Ibid.

46. Ibid.

47. UNCTAD, UNCTAD World Investment Report 2013.

48. Wright and Pasquali, “World’s Largest Companies.”

49. World Bank, Global Financial Development Report 2017/2018.

50. Gallagher, Chinn, and Kamal, “China Goes Global with Development Banks.”

51. Ibid.

52. Shelepov, Infrastructure Financing.

53. IMF, IMF Annual Report 2016.

54. UNCTAD, UNCTADstat.

55. Ibid.

56. Ibid.

57. Ibid.

58. UNCTAD, UNCTAD World Investment Report 2013.

59. Jaworek and Kuzel, “Transnational Corporations in the World Economy.”

60. Ibid.

61. Puerto, “A Los Fabricantes Chinos”; and Roberts, “China Buys Foreign Companies.”

62. WIPO, “Statistical Country Profiles.”

63. Starrs, “The Chimera of Global Convergence”; and Beckeley, M. “China’s Century?”

64. OECD, OECD.Stat.

65. Held et al., Global Transformations.

66. Dittmer, “China’s Rise, Global Identity”; Ghemawat, Mundo 3.0; Zweig, “Rise of a New ‘Trading Nation,’” 38.

67. Arrighi, Adam Smith em Pequim; Kissinger, Sobre a China; Sawaya, “China: uma estratégia de inserção,” 210; Cunha and Acioly, “China: ascensão à condição”; and Li, “Expansion of China’s Global Hegemonic Strategy.”

68. Pautasso and Ungaretti, “The New Silk Road”; Callahan, “China’s ‘Asia Dream’”; “Construção de Cinturão e Rota.”

69. Pautasso, China e Rússia.

70. Arrighi, Adam Smith em Pequim; Kissinger, Sobre a China.

71. Zweig, “Rise of a New ‘Trading Nation,’” 38.

72. UNCTAD, UNCTADstat.

73. Zakaria, O Mundo pós-Americano.

74. Amsden, A Ascensão do “Resto.”

75. UNCTAD, UNCTADstat.

76. Babones, Farabee-Siers and Morales, “Dependency Trends in the Globalization Era.”

77. OECD, WTO, and World Bank, Global Value Chains; and UNCTAD, UNCTAD World Investment Report 2013.

78. UNCTAD, UNCTAD World Investment Report 2013.

79. Santos and Milan, “Determinantes dos Investimentos Diretos.”

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81. Pautasso and Ungaretti, “The New Silk Road,” 26.

82. Callahan, “China’s ‘Asia Dream’.”

83. Held et al., Global Transformations.

84. Grotius, Freedom of the Seas; and Scott “Introductory Note.”

85. Bull, A sociedade anárquica.

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87. Alessi and Hanson, “Combating Maritime Piracy”; and US and China, China’s Navy Extends its Combat Reach.

88. Heath, “How Will China Respond”; and Lagrone, “China Upset Over ‘Unprofessional’ US.”

89. Magalhães, “Globalizadores e a Globalização Comercial.”

90. Callahan, “China’s ‘Asia Dream’”; Guoqiang, “What’s the Future of Chinese Trade”; Kerckhoven and Luyten, “Tale of a Trojan Horse”; H. A. Oliveira and Leite, “Chinese Engagement for Global Governance,” 267; and Narlikar, “New Powers in the Club,” 719.

91. Kerckhoven and Luyten, “Tale of a Trojan Horse”; and WTO, “List of all RTAs.”

92. Bhagwati, Free Trade Today; Liang, “China: Globalization and the Emergence”; and Menon, “Mega-Regionals and the Mega-Mess.”

93. Gilpin, Global Political Economy; and Eichengreen, Capital Flows and Crises.

94. Gilpin, Global Political Economy.

95. Keohane, After Hegemony: Cooperation and Discord.

96. Magalhães, “Globalizadores e a Globalização Comercial.”

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98. Martins, “A hegemonia do dólar”; France Presse, “China celebra entrada”; and IMF, IMF Annual Report 2016.

99. See Callahan, “China’s ‘Asia Dream’”; and “Turkey, China Conclude First.”

100. Hsu, “How China’s Asian Infrastructure.”

101. Pautasso and Ungaretti, “The New Silk Road,” 28; Gallagher, Chinn, and Kamal, “China Goes Global with Development Banks.”

102. Martins, “A hegemonia do dólar”; Nedal, “Multilateralismo na política externa chinesa”; and Pautasso and Ungaretti, “The New Silk Road.”

103. Bremmer, O Fim das Lideranças Mundiais; and Xu and Carey, “The Economic and Political Geography.”

104. Nedal, “Multilateralismo na política externa”; and H. A. Oliveira and Leite, “Chinese Engagement for Global Governance,” 281.

105. Narlikar, “New Powers in the Club”; Bremmer, O Fim das Lideranças Mundiais; Nedal, “Multilateralismo na política externa”; H. A. Oliveira and Leite, “Chinese Engagement for Global Governance,” 281; Callahan, “China’s ‘Asia Dream’”; and Pautasso and Ungaretti, “The New Silk Road.”