China, The New Indispensable Nation?

China is adapting to its role as an indispensable nation, argues Steven Mufson in an opinion essay for the Washington Post. The world’s second largest economy, also the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, is indispensable on a number of fronts, particularly climate change: “while America still possesses unparalleled military superiority and bears a unique burden in intervening in foreign conflicts or humanitarian crises, China has grown into an indispensable nation on issues such as climate change, trade, and peace and stability in the Asian Pacific.” China expects the United States to do more to increase China’s voting share at international organizations like the International Monetary Fund, Mufson notes, as China’s IMF voting share is smaller than France’s even though its economy is more than three times larger. Otherwise, the world can expect China to organize its own global instituions. Both the United States and China are nervous about the other’s role in setting rules, military priorities and agendas for domestic reform. Both countries confront divided interests at home, always a factor that can deter grand strategies on foreign policy and global reach. – YaleGlobal