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China's development has enormous implications for how the world is governed. The sheer size of the country means the effect of its activities inevitably spills over its borders. Beyond that, there is evidence that the Chinese government has taken an active role in a number of policy areas to defend China's expanding national interest and to strengthen its status in the world. As China's economy and its political ambition continue to grow, so will its influence around the world. In this article, we examine Chinese views and practices with regard to global governance. We also discuss the major factors that will shape the future of China's involvement in global governance.
Key words: China, global governance, global finance, Chinese foreign policy, international system
Introduction
Global governance is a vague and amorphous concept. Broadly speaking it refers to the complex of institutions and processes that govern how things happen in the world. In its origin, "global governance" was intended to express something that could be distinguished from "global government," i.e., a legitimate authoritative organized power (as yet nonexistent) governing the world.1 Compared to a global government, global governance refers to something less permanently established, more fluid, something continually in process of being constructed and reconstructed.
Global governance, as it is commonly understood today, has three distinctive features. First, the term highlights the global scale of many of the world's pressing issues, such as economic interdependence, migration, financial crises, drug trafficking, environmental degradation, and various health pandemics. Second, it emphasizes that while governments continue to perform important functions, non-state entities have become significant actors in making demands, framing goals, issuing directives, and pursuing policies, thus shaping how the world is governed. Third, it presumes the validity of a number of norms of "good governance" rooted in Western experience, such as market competition, human rights, democracy, transparency, accountability, and rule of law. While the idea of a world government has lost its appeal, the notion of global governance has gained a great deal of currency in recent years.
The development of China's economy has enormous implications for how the world is governed. The sheer size of the country means the effect of its activities inevitably spills over its borders. For instance, China's rise as a trading power has...