Global Economics Monthly: A Pivotal Year for the Global Economic Order

Volume III, Issue 12, December 2014

Any review of the major international events of 2014 would certainly include Russia’s annexation of Crimea, the rise of the Islamic State, and the Ebola outbreak. But the most epochal development of the year may turn out to be China’s claim to a leading role in running the world economy. In founding several new international financial institutions and asserting its leadership on trade and investment in Asia, Beijing mounted the first serious challenge to the U.S.-led global economic order established at Bretton Woods 70 years ago. There are questions about how trailblazing—or even sustainable—China’s efforts are in substance, but the strategic ambition behind them is unmistakable, and Washington needs to be smarter in its response...

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Matthew P. Goodman

Matthew P. Goodman

Former Senior Vice President for Economics