Poor outlook for democracy

China is already the world’s largest industrial producer, the world’s largest exporter and the country with the world’s largest currency reserve. In just a few years, the country will overtake the USA to become the world’s largest economy. Then China - like Europe, the Soviet Union and the USA before it - will no doubt want to convert its position as an economic power into the equivalent political power. This is the view of Klas Eklund, Adjunct Professor of Economics at LU and a member of the Government's Futures Commission, who published a much talked-about book on China in the autumn. He sees it as a challenge to the Western world to show that openness, pluralism and democracy are superior values, despite China's successes. What is China striving for politically? - "China wants to retake its former position as the Middle Kingdom, the strongest power in the world. Among other things, they want Western countries to stop complaining about China's monetary policy and human rights abuses; they want the US-imposed trade embargo on exports of arms and high technology to China lifted and they want access to trade routes and harbours that are interesting for Chinese trade." If China becomes the Middle Kingdom again, what would this mean for Europe and for us? - "I think we will be affected in a variety of ways. Some are obvious: a larger proportion of our trade will be with China, more companies will have Chinese owners, etc., which means that China will play a greater role in Sweden's economic prosperity. However, I also think we will be influenced more by Chinese culture - everything from food to language and film - just as we have been influenced by American culture during Pax Americana." Is this the start of a new imperialism?