The writer, a distinguished fellow at the National University of Singapore, is author of ‘Has the West Lost It?’ and ‘Has China Won?’

Two decades into the 21st century, the main challenge it holds for the west has become clear: the return of China to centre stage. After managing phase 1 of China’s reform well from 1980 to 2020 — a period in which China fought no wars — the west is setting itself up for failure in phase 2.

It is a failure resulting from three flawed assumptions. The first — and most deeply embedded in western minds — is that China cannot possibly be a good partner as long as it is ruled by the Chinese Communist party. Communism was supposed to have been swept into the dustbin of history after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s. So, the argument goes, how can the world work with an oppressive party that rules against the wisdom of the Chinese people?