Understanding the impact of China's rise

The British intellectual, author and Guardian columnist was in Taiwan earlier this week for several talks on his book, through which he makes a powerful assertion – that not only will China rise, but that this will mean an end to the Western-dominated world. Nonetheless Taiwan can benefit from this, he believes, but it must grasp the opportunity to get closer to China or risk being left behind in the region.

Jacques notes China will be a superpower, but with different characteristics from the West. No more, he says, will global institutions, currency, language, and culture be entirely shaped by the West (the U.S. and Western Europe) in the future. Despite the success of the West, it is not something that is infinite nor is it the only model for development. He argues that East Asia, Taiwan included, provides a good example, with countries like Japan and South Korea having successfully become developed nations, incorporating Western systems such as electoral democracy but retaining elements of their own culture.

China's immense and unique history – its long-standing existence as a unified entity, which Jacques describes as a civilization-state in comparison to the conventional nation-states – means that its rise will certainly not see it becoming like the West, despite what many think.

“Based on Western hubris [that believes] the world would always be Western, with China's rise, many think it's only economic. ... One's society is not just product of technology, but history and culture. I think it's just an illusion to think China will end up as a western society,” Jacques told The China Post.

Jacques stresses that China's rise will occur without it being a rich nation. “China will become the most powerful nation by virtue of its huge population not because it's got the most sophisticated economy.”

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