China’s Identity and Cultural Approach in its Economic Engagement in Asia
Abstract
China’s relative closed political system, legacy of conflict with Japan, and China’s distrust to
international economic regime led by West’s capitalism, tend to make the country took minimalist
approach to global system. But the vast rapid development in China has change the way it sees the
global system. China becomes very confident stepping as a global dominant power. There has been
debate in seeing the phenomenon of China Rise. Some say that China’s openness and involvement in
global system can be seen as stimulus to China’s steps into democracy, as what most liberals might
think. But some skepticism thinks that China Rise is something that needs to be taken seriously. At least
the fact related to China’s growing power in military as consequences of it economic growth, is likely
relevant as consideration. This writing will discuss the alternative approach in understanding the
motivation behind China’s engagement in Asia. Rooted from long history of Local Wisdom –
Confucian, China seems to know exactly well its destiny and mandate to become the light of the world,
and thus affects the way it strategize their path to global dominance in a global system by building
relations with countries, especially in Asia.