The rise of China spells the decline of the West

The rise of China spells the decline of the West

01 Nov 2005

The panel debate the motion: ‘The rise of China spells the decline of the West’ Chaired by Anna Ford.

Arguing in favour of the motion are Martin Wolf, Jonathan Fenby and Isabel Hilton.

Martin Wolf points out that the Chinese economy has grown sevenfold or eightfold since 1978, the upshot being that the European Community and the United States can no longer set the agenda. This does not mean the West will be worse off, but it does mean the global agenda will no longer be ours to dictate.

Jonathan Fenby says that, whilst China is simply pursuing its own national interests, what China wants is increasingly what China gets. China acts and gets away with all of this as nobody, the West included, wants to risk offending Beijing.

Isabel Hilton suggests that the West no longer has the power to set the global agenda. Beijing is promoting a Confucian revival, with the Chinese government opening funded centres of learning across the world. Cinematic 'founding myths' are being created in China just as they were in the US.

Arguing against the motion are Dr Linda Yueh, Joe Studwell and John Ralston Saul.

Dr Linda Yueh does not believe that the rise of China spells the decline of the West, with the adage that 'trade is good' being the basis of her position. There are also lots of reasons why china could falter; its growth is fraught with difficulty, and suffers from all the problems associated with a developing country.

Joe Studwell points out that this is the third global 'what if?' debate since the Second World War, after the Soviet Union and Japan. He suggests that if you support this motion you are betting on Communists, and this has been a bad bet for the past fifty years. Chinese economic power is not based on its own products and, for Studwell, taking over the world is not just about growth, but about homegrown profits and productivity.

John Ralston Saul suggests that globalisation is always Western-centred, and that the more we see China in this way, the more we will construct this rise – it's as if we are provoking them into this situation. Moreover, he points out that economics is only a small part of the puzzle of international relations.

First Vote: 216 For, 276 Against, 215 Don't Know

Final Vote: 263 For, 401 Against, 48 Don't Know.

The motion is defeated by 138 votes.