July, 2001

The Shift Towards a Multipolar World Order: a Chinese perspective

Shin Shimua

Since the end of the Cold War, there has been a conflict in international relations between a shift towards a unipolar order headed by the United States and a multipolar order. The ever increasing and sustainable growth of China's economy and the consolidation of its international position enhance the latter tendency. In the same way, the completion of the European Union's procedures to attain unity and its advocating the application of common foreign and security policies directly jeopardise the US role. In addition, both Russia and Japan are exerting every effort to underscore their positions as active regional and international powers.

The United States, relying on its position as the sole superpower, endeavours to establish a world order under its leadership. To successfully accomplish its mission, it reinforces its position in Europe and Asia by encouraging NATO expansion eastwards and increasing US-Japanese security cooperation. The US impact, however, is different in each region. The United States has considerably more influence in economic fields than in international politics (such as the United Nations, for example) and its influence in the Americas, Europe and the Middle East is more substantial than in Asia and Africa.
The positive interaction and progress in the balance of superpower relations is clearly visible in the Asia Pacific region. Here, the strategies of the world powers were amended to meet the needs of each strategic power and help them attain their desired positions. Although the conflict is still going on between both the unipolar and multipolar tendencies, the focus is shifting to economic fields as economic security has become the most important kind of security, and economic stability has become the basis for political stability.