The rise of China has had a transformative impact on almost all areas of global political, economic and social life, and raises some very important questions: Will the rise of China lead to the sinicisation of the international regime and the liberal order through the process of its historical transformation from being in a semi-periphery position to becoming part of the core of the capitalist world system? Will China be a cooperative actor or a disruptive one? A force for continuity or a force for change? Is China displaying an alternative development model to all other developing countries? Does China's ascent represent a new "beginning of history" rather than "end of history"? Will the rise of China lead to the peripherisation of existing semi-periphery countries, and to the altering of the traditional pattern of relationships between the exiting West-based world order and the developing world? This book provides a framework to understand China's re-emergence in the nexus of historical, economic, political and world-systems perspectives. It examines the multifaceted facts and explores the triple impact of China's rise to core, semi-periphery and periphery countries, with a focus on developing nations. China's rise has brought developing countries opportunities and challenges, as well as constraints. If developing countries can respond adequately, China's ascent represents new promises and new prospects.
