DAY 6 OF THE WEEK LONG CHALLENGE

The world we live in today has started moving from a unipolar system dominated by the United States to a unipolar system influenced by China. This was stated by one of the guest lecturers, Prof. Saheed Olurotimi Timeyin, a lecturer at Lagos State University, during the ICAD conference. The reasons for this will be highlighted. According to him , he said that the world has started moving and shifting from a unipolar system dominated by the United States to a unipolar system dominated by China. This is because China, at present, has possessed significant dominance in political, economic, military, technological, and other aspects. Although it is generally known that the world once experienced a bipolar system between the USSR and the US, it later moved to a unipolar system dominated by the US due to the disintegration of the USSR, which led to the end of the Cold War in 1991. The world shifted to a US-dominated unipolar system after the Cold War as a result of America’s dominance in political, economic, military, and technological affairs, making it a superpower. Furthermore, Prof. Timeyin justified his claim based on what some scholars have said in this regard. One of his claims on a China-dominated unipolar world system is that China has become one of the world’s strongest economic powers, challenging US dominance. China is the world’s largest trading nation, dominating global manufacturing and exports. It is also the second-largest economy in the world by GDP and the largest by purchasing power parity. Through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China finances infrastructure in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America, increasing global economic dependence on China. This economic influence gives China power over global markets and developing countries. Moving forward, he said China has been able to rapidly modernize its military, challenging Western dominance. China portrays itself as an advanced military power with the introduction of advanced missile systems, cyber warfare capabilities, and space weapons, making it the world’s largest navy by number of ships. From further research, I discovered that China has significantly grown its military presence in the South China Sea, Africa (Djibouti base), and the Indo-Pacific. The point to note is that China’s military power and influence show its ability to project power globally. In technology, China is becoming a technological and digital superpower, showing dominance across the globe. It is projecting leadership power in technological and digital innovations, which has strengthened its global influence and reduced its dependence on Western systems. China is dominant in several technological areas such as space exploration and satellite systems, e-commerce and fintech, artificial intelligence and surveillance technology, and 5G technology (Huawei, ZTE). China undoubtedly has strong influence and power in global governance institutions, which is one of the claims that the world is becoming unipolar and dominated by China. Explicitly, China is playing a leading role in BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, among others. It continues to expand its diplomatic influence globally, forming strong relations with Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, while using aid, loans, and cultural diplomacy to build influence. This has made China one of the countries with the largest number of embassies and diplomatic missions worldwide. The point to note is that the international system today is moving from a US-dominated unipolar world to a China-dominated and influenced unipolar system due to the factors mentioned above.

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