China’s Growing Global Influence: A Shift from Geopolitical Reach to World Order
Keywords:
China, Belt and Road Initiative, Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, Global Civilization Initiative, Global Governance InitiativeAbstract
In the 21st century, China’s global growing influence is evident in global politics, economy, and governance structures, marking a significant shift. After the Cold War, the unipolar world faces challenges from the new distribution of power, growing geopolitical rivalry, changes in multilateral institutions, and axiological debates. In this changing environment, China has not only enhanced economic vitality and strategic capabilities but also achieved global initiatives. The purpose of the study is to analyze how China extends its influence through political, economic, and geopolitical strategies and seeks to reshape international relations, values, and institutional structures. The research is based on two central questions: how China is extending its global influence through its political, economic, and geopolitical activities; and to what extent China influences international principles, values, and global governance, and how it reshapes them through Chinese cooperation and civilization-based initiatives. This study employs a thematic qualitative research approach and utilizes secondary sources. A mixed theoretical framework is utilized: Structural realism examines China's strategic influence, Liberalism examines China's economic mechanisms, and constructivism examines how China is shaping a shift in values and norms through its own civilization. Initial findings portray that China’s global governance policy is not limited to power maximization, but is based on economic connectivity, institutional cooperation, representation of the Global South, and new global discourses. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the Global Development Initiative (GDI), the Global Security Initiative (GSI), the Global Civilization Initiative (GCI), and the Global Governance Initiative (GGI) are the basic pillars of China’s grand strategy. This research aims to understand China’s rise through power in the global order, through cooperation, and in shaping values.
