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China as a System Preserving Power in the WTO

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Rising Powers and Multilateral Institutions

Part of the book series: International Political Economy Series ((IPES))

Abstract

Since the People’s Republic of China (PRC) embarked upon a program of reform beginning in 1978, China’s “rise” has generated considerable debate. Outside of the country, much of the debate has concentrated on whether China will be a “system-challenging” (that is, a “revisionist”) power, or one that is “status quo”-preserving, despite the well noted ambiguities in these terms; and the central issue of much scholarly research has been directed at trying to determine what the PRC’s “intentions” are such that a proclamation can be made one way or the other. Sitting behind this debate is a longer-standing scholarly and policy concern with the extent to which China represents a “threat” to the international system that dates back more than 200 years to the West’s first regularized dealings with China (Turner, 2009; Kennedy, 2010). Indeed, much of the debate hinges on whether China has, to paraphrase Yongjin Zhang (1991), re-entered international society, or whether it is possible, to borrow Alastair Johnston’s phrase, “to socialize a dictatorial, nationalistic, and dissatisfied China” within that society (Johnston, 2003: 5).

A version of this chapter appeared in the Journal of World Trade, Vol. 47, No. 4 in 2013. The authors would like to thank Kluwer Law International for kindly allowing us to reprint sections.

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Authors
  1. James Scott
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  2. Rorden Wilkinson
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science, University of Ghent, Belgium

    Dries Lesage  & Thijs Van de Graaf  & 

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© 2015 James Scott and Rorden Wilkinson

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Scott, J., Wilkinson, R. (2015). China as a System Preserving Power in the WTO. In: Lesage, D., Van de Graaf, T. (eds) Rising Powers and Multilateral Institutions. International Political Economy Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137397607_11

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