China Translated

Did anyone notice a new world order emerging at the recent meeting of business leaders in Davos?  Me neither.  But we must have been looking in the wrong place, because everyone’s favourite Communist Party magazine - Outlook Weekly - saw it quite clearly.

Here’s my translation of the main points of an article on Vice Premier Li Keqiang’s trip to Switzerland, from the latest edition:

‘The summit at Davos was happily timed to coincide with two ’saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new’ moments.  The first was the end of the 00’s and the beginning of the 10’s.  The second was the waning of the old Western dominated world order, and the dawning of a new world order, where large emerging countries will have greater power and influence.

The world is becoming multi-polar, and this process is leading to rapid reform of global systems of governance.  International power and influence is shifting from the West to the East and from the North to the South.  Western countries are being compelled to share their influence with emerging countries in the East.

After the financial crisis, the centers of global influence are the US, EU, China, Russia, Japan, India, and Brazil.  ‘One super power many strong powers’ （一超多强）has become ‘One super power six strong powers’ （ 一超六强).  The US might still be the only super power, bu the six other powers now includes four developing countries.’

The article goes on to set out China’s ‘four principles’ for global economic governance, as set out by the Chinese representative at the G8 meeting in September 2009.  These are:

1. The objectives of governance: to push forward economic globalisation, with a focus on mutual benefit and win-win solutions

2. The subject of governance: all countries should participate on an equal basis in global governance

3. The process of governance: the process should be consultative, with the interests of all countries - especially developing countries - considered

4. The system of governance - at different levels and in different spheres, to increase the representative nature of global governance, a new framework for economic governance should be constructed

Finally, the article notes that at a briefing for Chinese media ahead of Vice Premier Li’s trip, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry added his own three principles for reform, which can basically be boiled down to a greater role for developing countries in global governance, and respect for all countries’ right to determine their own development model.

The main points and general tone of the argument in this article certainly supports the idea that post-crisis China has growing confidence about its weight in world affairs.  The authors use of the term ‘one super power six strong powers’ is also interesting.  The term ‘one super power many strong powers’ has been in China’s international relations vocabulary since the end of the cold war, expressing the hope that multiple smaller powers would be able to check the influence of the US.  The transition from ‘many strong powers’ to ’six strong powers’ might be wishful thinking on the part of China, but also indicates some crystallisation of thought in Beijing as to who those ‘many strong powers’ might be.

China - Africa relations, China - Latin America relations, EU-China Relations, Financial Crisis, IFIs, International Relations, US-China Relations