China’s rise inevitable, author says

Is the rise of China as the dominant global power inevitable, or is the nation’s rapid economic growth unsustainable and bound to fizzle, as some experts argue? Martin Jacques, author of When China Rules the World: The Rise of the Middle Kingdom and the End of the Western World and the keynote speaker at the Baton Rouge Area Chamber’s annual Shareholder’s Meeting, believes China’s economic might will continue to grow. Jacques says the global financial crisis began here, not in China, which continues to grow at about 9% a year. Jacques cites projections that the size of China’s economy will exceed that of the U.S. in 2018 and be twice as large as America’s by 2050. China is quite secure in its belief in the superiority of its own culture, he says, and will continue to challenge Western assumptions that a successful modern state must be open and democratic. As China replaces the United States as the world’s dominant power, it will not become more like the West; rather, the rest of the world will become more like China, he argues. There’s not much the United States can do to counter China’s rise, he says, although improving our “lousy” education system would help this country remain relevant. Jacques is a British journalist, columnist and author. —David Jacobs