Give China its due in global economy

The history of international economic cooperation teaches us one important lesson: every form of cooperation will die, essentially if not formally, if it does not adapt to new conditions. Now that China has risen to global power status, have the global institutions adapted to the new situation or are they on the verge of losing their relevance, perhaps even dying, because their incumbent powers are reluctant to change?

The past 20 years have witnessed huge shifts not only in what issues international economic cooperation should address, but also in the conditions for effective cooperation.

Importantly, the Cold War, with its ideological conflict between two different ideas of economic and societal order, provided the glue that kept many of these organizations together after their initial post-war purpose had been achieved. The United States had strategic reasons to provide leadership for the global economy, and Europe conformed, sometimes reluctantly, to that leadership. They aimed to spread the principles of the market economy and the role of free trade to generate peace and prosperity.