The Rise of China: (Ir)relevance of Dependency Theories

This paper aims to investigate the proposition that the rise of China does not undermine the significance of dependency theories; instead, it reaffirms their relevance and introduces a new dimension to comprehend the intricacies of dependency in the contemporary world. [...] The Latin American school or dependencia, notably Prebisch 18 and Cardoso and Faletto, attributes the North-South divide to the rapid industrialisation of the North and their export competitiveness, resulting in the South facing technological lagging and declining terms of trade. [...] Local elites in the region play a vital role in accommodating China’s interests even in the absence of formal political intervention, affirming one of the core insights from dependency theories that internal dynamics must be analysed in relation to the dynamics of the central nations in order to see the systemic global processes that produce peripheral constraints in similar ways despite diversity. [...] Moreover, it contributed to the formation of the Group of 77, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the idea of South-South cooperation, and the advocacy for a New International Economic Order36. [...] 15 The rise of China does not diminish the importance of dependency theories; on the contrary, it underscores their relevance and introduces a new dimension for understanding the complexities of dependency in the modern world.