Harmony with Diversity: China’s Preferred World Order and Weakening Western Influence in the Developing World
| Published date | 01 February 2013 |
| Date | 01 February 2013 |
| Author | Frans‐Paul van der Putten |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1758-5899.2012.00196.x |
Harmony with Diversity: China’s
Preferred World Order and
Weakening Western Influence in
the Developing World
Frans-Paul van der Putten
Institute of International Relations ‘Clingendael’
Abstract
The Chinese government says that it supports the notion of international diversity of political-economic systems. This
should not be regarded as mere propaganda. Apart from a brief period during the Cultural Revolution, China never
was interested in exporting its ideology or in trying to turn other countries into a replication of itself. It is unlikely that
China will change its attitude in this regard, even as it emerges as a new superpower. On the contrary: as it becomes
more influential at the multilateral level, it is likely that China will promote political-economic diversity as a major
norm in international relations. This would limit the ability of the west to promote liberal democracy and economic
liberalism through multilateral institutions, and perhaps even bilaterally. One of the effects of this process would be
that the competitive advantage of Chinese companies in developing countries increases vis-à-vis western firms. This
would accelerate the power shift in the developing world towards China from the west.
Policy Implications
•In the years ahead China is likely to push international diversity as a major norm in international relations.
•China’s drive towards international diversity challenges the western support for economic and political liberal val-
ues in international relations.
•The more China succeeds in making the institutions of global governance ideologically ‘neutral’ (i.e., not represent-
ing liberal values and thereby favouring the Chinese position vis-à-vis the west), the more difficult it becomes for
the US and its western partners to use these institutions to export liberal democracy and economic liberalism to
the developing world.
•It will be increasingly difficult for western firms to compete with their Chinese counterparts in developing coun-
tries. This strengthens Chinese economic - and therefore political - influence in the developing world vis-à-vis wes-
tern influence.
The West, China, and the developing world
One of the most enduring aspects of the global system
of international relations has been the divide in terms of
power and wealth between the west and the developing
world.
1
The rise of China, which combines the features of
a developing country with those of an emerging super-
power, is affecting the western position in the world both
directly and indirectly. While Sino-US relations and more
generally Sino-Western relations are at the centre of
attention, still little is known about the effects of China’s
rise from US and western influence in the developing
world. Even the relationship between China and the
developing world remains under-explored at the overall
level. The great majority of relevant literature is aimed at
China’s relations with individual developing countries, or
with wider regions – in particular Africa.
2
The few existing
book-length publications in English on China’s relations
with the developing world, that have been published in
recent years, are edited volumes in which the majority of
the chapters focus on the Chinese involvement in specific
geographic regions (Eisenman, Heginbotham and Mitch-
ell, 2007; Lowell and Yu, 2010). In the limited literature
that discusses China’s relations with the developing world
Global Policy Volume 4 . Issue 1 . February 2013
Global Policy (2013) 4:1 doi: 10.1111/j.1758-5899.2012.00196.x ª2013 London School of Economics and Political Science and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Research Article
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