The correct answer is a brief background about globalization.
After the end of <em>World War II</em>, China, which sided with the victorious powers, entered a situation of bloody civil war. The situation culminated with the communist revolution of 1949 and the coming to power of Mao Zedong (or Mao Zedong in another transliteration of the name), founding the People's Republic of China. Thereafter (self) it excludes itself from the international capitalist system, in a logic of a nationalized and planned economy, perpetuating its backwardness. After Mao Zedong's death, the situation began to change. In the late 1970s, with Deng Xiaoping, several transformations, of a fundamentally economic nature, led to a gradual opening to capitalism. (Ideological communism remained officially, although without the proselytizing side of the Soviets). In addition to the superficial communist ideology, China has shown itself to be deeply imbued with its own ancient culture, which is decisive in its direction. Traditionally, it sees itself as the "Middle Empire" - in the sense of being the country that is at the center of the world. This view, it seems, feeds the Chinese elites the idea that the place of the greatest economic, political and military power is "naturally" theirs. The rise to number one worldwide, will be a kind of restoration of the natural order of things.
China is the big winner of the current globalization, initiated by Americans and Europeans (and also by Japanese). Its rise calls into question many ideas made in the West: (i) the idea that capitalism and free trade go hand in hand with liberal democracy; (ii) the idea that the Internet and social networks are an area of freedom and citizen empowerment, driving participatory democracy; (iii) the idea that globalization weakens the state and its sovereignty, making the nation-state and nationalism obsolete
