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China, the US and what it means to be a hegemon
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China is an economic power, surpassing the US if measured in terms of gross domestic product at purchasing power parity rates.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Gu Bin
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China has been unprecedentedly active on the world stage under Mr Xi Jinping's leadership. Prior to that, the West had been urging China to become a "responsible stakeholder" in global matters. But now questions are being asked as to China's intent given its ascent. Specifically: Will China act like a hegemon like the US when it leads the world?
There is no doubt about the legitimacy of the concern, if one considers the international initiatives that China launched in the past decade. For example, in some international financial institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), China holds a veto power. In others, such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Multilateral Cooperation Centre for Development Finance (MCDF), China is also dominant, and has de facto veto power.
