China needs its seat in global institutions - William Overholt

William Overholt
by Fons1 via FlickrWhile India and Brazil display often ideological undertones in the message, China is "open to compromises and trade-offs", says Dr. William Overholt, senior research fellow at the Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University in DNA-India.
If China now claims a place at the table of the global financial institutions, it is because the country belongs there, Overholt argues.

“Apart from the fact of it’s size, China has also been conducting itself responsibly, and there’s something wrong when major global institutions don’t give China an important seat.”

China’s ascent, reasons Overhold, won’t lead to conflict with the West, which now wields the levers of financial power. “That’s because China presents its interests in a way that the US and Europeans understand, and is open to compromises and trade-offs.” He contrasts this with India and Brazil, “who have often been rather more ideological and not always constructive during international negotiation”. India, he says, “is one of the most geopolitically ambitious countries on earth. It wants to see its navy dominate everything from the Red Sea to the east coast of Africa to the South China Sea, but its eyes have always been a little bigger than its stomach.”

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William Overholt is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau focusing on international relationships. When you are interested in having him as a speaker, do let us know.

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