AP looks at how China will emerge from the global financial crisis:
Explosive growth in China and India, coupled with Japan’s clout as the world’s No. 2 economy, has long been expected to shift economic power from the United States to Asia as this century progresses. The financial crisis and resulting Great Recession are accelerating that process.
“China certainly comes out of the crisis stronger rather than weaker, and it’s the opposite for the United States,” says Stephen Roach, chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia.
Even some Americans have begun declaring this the “Chinese century” since it began nearly a decade ago. But while they and others fear the rise of China in international relations and the global economy, the reality is less dramatic: Beijing is still getting its own sprawling, chaotic house in order and is in no position to supplant the United States as global leader in the near future.
At the same time, Beijing’s power remains undefined: On an unfamiliar global stage, it is unsure what role it wants to play.
