This compelling book examines how the rise of an illiberal China has affected the stability of the Western-dominated order through the lens of global development finance. David Skidmore demonstrates how China’s growing impact on the global development finance regime has produced competitive convergence rather than divergence, emphasizing the resilience of the liberal international order.Skidmore discusses China’s emergence as a major source of development finance through strategies such as the Belt and Road initiative, the Asian Infrastructure Bank and the New Development Bank. Analysing measures at both bilateral and multilateral level, he investigates claims that China is exporting an economic model to the developing world and considers the successes and failures of such efforts. The book further explores Western responses to China’s growth, including the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment. It illustrates how competitive convergence has narrowed the gap between Western and Chinese practices, with emulation rather than differentiation resulting in a pattern of two-way socialization between East and West.Students and scholars of political science, international relations, political economy, Asian politics and economics, and Chinese foreign policy will greatly benefit from the innovative insights of this book. It is also a vital resource for policymakers and practitioners working in aid and development.
