CHINA AND THE WORLD: CAN CHINA LEAD?

BY JONGSOO LEE

Can China lead in the Indo-Pacific region and in the world? Does it have the necessary “soft power”? And is there an exportable “China model”? For a perspective on these and other matters, Jongsoo Lee interviews William Kirby, T. M. Chang professor of China studies at Harvard University and Spangler family professor of business administration at Harvard Business School, who has served as dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University.

Jongsoo Lee: It is said the 21st century is the century of China and of Asia. But how does China see its role in the Indo-Pacific region and in the world? Does China have ambitions and capabilities to lead in the region and in the world?

William Kirby: It is frequently said this may be the Chinese century or the Asian century. One should be a bit careful as to how one makes these predictions. In the year 1800, China was probably the most powerful and richest economy on earth, but that century did not turn out particularly well for China. In the year 1900, you can be forgiven for thinking that century would have been a German century. So, things don’t always pan out as one imagines. Also, when the Republic of China was founded in 1912, there were many people thinking that the 20th century would be the Chinese century, and that did not work out particularly well.

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW AT THE DIPLOMAT.

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Jongsoo Lee is a Pacific Council member, Senior Managing Director at Brock Securities, and Center Associate at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University. He is also Adjunct Fellow at Hawaii-based Pacific Forum. He can be followed on Twitter at @jameslee004.

This article was originally published by The Diplomat.

The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and speaker and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Pacific Council.