China no longer just an economic juggernaut
Andrew Leung says the reality of this pendulum swing from West to East must be acknowledged
Regardless of whether the 21st century will remain an American century, authors Heriberto Araújo and Juan Pablo Cardenal have outlined in The New York Times how China is already building an "economic empire" across the globe, including the acquisition of Western iconic assets.
China's massive foreign direct investment is receiving red-carpet treatment in Africa, Latin America and Europe, and is projected to reach US$1-2 trillion by 2020.
In London, China owns 10 per cent of Heathrow. It is also waiting to develop a huge swathe of land in east London into a financial centre for China's outgoing companies. In New York, a Chinese property developer and Brazil's banking empire Safra have bought a 40 per cent stake in the iconic General Motors Building for US$1.4 billion.
China's growing global influence is not limited to buyouts. China now tops the world in patent applications while the Royal Society, Britain's national science academy, says China will surpass the US in citations in scientific literature by end of this year. Even the dollar's dominance since the second world war is now beginning to be challenged.
A further measure of China's growing clout is in geopolitics. For example, to rival the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership, China is quietly spearheading a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership that involves the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as well as Australia, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand - absent the US.
China remains the dominant trading partner in the region, at the centre of a globalised production and supply chain, supported by most of the world's top container ports.