The Spreading Tentacles of Chinese Economic Diplomacy: Ethnic Conflict in Indonesia and Pakistan
In 2014, China’s GDP based on purchasing power parity has overtaken that of the United States. Though the US is still regarded as the world’s major economy, trends are shifting away from the narrative of a post-Cold War hegemony of liberal democracies. In light of such circumstances, this analysis assesses how Chinese development finance and investment in the Global South is shaping both, current geopolitics and the internal structure of Pakistan and Indonesia.
The Authoritarian Regime as China’s Top Export
China’s global prominence is not only because it is the largest provider of commodities and manufactured goods. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been equally successful in terms of politics and diplomacy, and it manages to do so by selling its authoritarian model across the globe. Whereas developing and fragile states are more susceptible to it, also Western democracies have been receiving these implicit totalitarian elements.
