Why Christians should be keeping an eye on China’s growing influence

25 years ago, Chris Goswami heard his Chinese professor predict his country’s rise as a global superpower. With that predication now being reality, Chris explores the forces driving China’s growth and why its growing influence is something Christians should be thoughtfully engaging with

I remember trying to keep a straight face at the end of an otherwise excellent presentation by a Chinese professor. It was 25 years ago, and he’d spent a few months as a visiting academic at my UK tech organisation. On his last day, he gave a talk about disruptive changes. It was impressive - but his final slide left us open-mouthed. 

It showed curves representing the rise and fall of empires: first the Roman Empire (1st–4th centuries), then the British Empire (17th–20th centuries). By now our curiosity was piqued! His last curve was labelled simply “Rise of Chinese empire–21st century”. 

We all thought the same thing. What is he talking about?…China is a developing country. We were polite, but we struggled to suppress our smiles.  

We’re not laughing now. 

China, subject to famine as recently as the 1960s, has transformed itself in a few decades. And, even if our professor spoke tongue in cheek, our perceptions about China have equally transformed. China’s remarkable change is based on three pillars, and we need to understand these to grasp the astonishing extent of China’s rise.