Not ‘Sinocentricism’ but deep pluralism: Insights from historical Asian interconnections

We are in the midst of global order change. The current order, the West-centric international order of the past two centuries, has been a core-periphery world given the vast power asymmetries between the West and the rest as well as the westward orientation of the rest of the world. However, the contemporary rise of Asia is heralding a new world order. While the shape of the emerging world order is a much-debated issue in scholarly and policy circles, the rise of China is at the vanguard of this transformation. Not surprisingly, many scholars and policymakers have turned to China’s – and Asia’s – past to understand if these can tell us anything about other possible configurations of ordering the world.

Interestingly, and disappointingly, the dominant view in scholarly and policy circles also points toward a core-periphery configuration when it comes to China’s and Asia’s past. This view posits a Sinocentric order as opposed to the West-centric core-periphery order of the past two centuries.

Often termed the “tribute system”, this Sinocentric world literally places China at the centre of a world order surrounded by tribute bearing subordinates. This tribute system is also believed to be the template for a future Sinocentric world order. According to Jim Mattis, when he...

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