BRICS Business Magazine English Edition No.6(10)
In the multipolar world of the not so distant future, the Chinese pole could turn out to be the strongest. The West is slowly departing from its role as the undisputed economic leader, and we are entering an era for which none of is fully equipped.
While fear and misunderstanding are increasing in certain countries, districts, and regions, opportunities are multiplying. China will become much larger in our lifetime – not only in terms of goods and money, but also in the spread of Chinese ideas, fashions, and lifestyles. Global migration patterns will also change dramatically.
The attitudes towards these changes will be even more varied. Some countries are vying for the new Silk Road to travel through their territory, while others are eschewing major collaboration with the Celestial Empire. After all, if change is perceived as a threat, then maintaining the status quo becomes more expensive than any forgone benefit. In my opinion, knowledge about China – its values, ideals, and aspirations – is insufficient for optimists and pessimists alike.
For example, one must bear in mind that military seizure of foreign territories is not a traditional Chinese practice. Outward expansion has occurred hand-in-hand with culture, which successfully spread into new lands. Perhaps this is also feared. A look back at history provides us with the mythology of the eternal and immutable Middle Kingdom. It has lost none of its steam, but instead has accumulated more and more over the centuries. In fact, the China that was formed from different ethnicities is diverse and subject to influences, too – this in itself is a sign of its modernity. Westernization is in full swing in China, which only expands the scope for dialogue. Every country in the world should learn not only to understand China, but also to offer valuable knowledge about itself in return.
Authors & Experts
Head of research at the Russian-Chinese Economic and Financial Center of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation
Director of the Division on Globalization and Development Strategies at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development; is the author, most recently, of Transforming Economies: Making Industrial Policy Work for Growth, Jobs
Director of Public Affairs and Global Health Policy at the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA)
Director of the Asian Markets department at the Russian-Chinese Trade Development Center
Director of the BRICLab at Columbia University, where he also teaches international affairs
professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Miami, where he also served as Dean of the School of International Studies (1997–2000); a member of the Council on Foreign Relations
Nobel laureate and William R. Berkley Professor in Economics and Business at the Stern School of Business, New York University
Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University, Head of the International Laboratory for Political Demography and Macrosociological Dynamics at Moscow’s RANEPA
First Vice-President of the Russian-Asian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RASPP)
President and CEO of the New America Foundation, Professor Emerita of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University, and a former director of policy planning in the US State Department (2009–2011)
Deputy Director of the Institute of Far Eastern Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences
is President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development. He is a participant of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
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