As China’s global economic clout grows, the rest of the world is waiting for the Asian giant to play a commensurate role on the world’s political stage. It spent 2011 still waiting for a highly risk-averse government to step up to the plate.
When the Libyan crisis unfolded, China was caught flat-footed. It got its citizens out of the country efficiently as violence spread but did nothing either to help the Western-led intervention against Col. Muammar Qaddafi or to block it: Beijing abstained on the critical United Nations vote. Then it
dithered and was the last major power to recognize the new government.
Later in the year, when Europe looked to Beijing for financial help, China’s leaders took a cautious attitude, unwilling to risk even a small share of the country’s $3 trillion foreign exchange stash to bail out Europe. Closer to home, China was less aggressive than last year in pushing its claims to most of the South China Sea.
Peter Ford is our Beijing bureau chief.
Highlights of the Monitor's coverage of China:
The rise of an economic superpower: What does China want? – by Peter Ford in Beijing
Ai Weiwei only the most prominent activist targeted in broad Chinese crackdown – by Peter Ford in Beijing
China's Three Gorges Dam: A huge dam with big troubles and China's farmers see hope in effort to stem soil erosion caused by Three Gorges Dam
– by Peter Ford in Xiangjiadian and Jun Tianba, China
