The 25-Year Shift That Made China a Global Superpower

China’s entry into the WTO in 2001 accelerated its rise as a global manufacturing and technology hub, boosting export growth and helping stabilize global demand during the financial crisis. As China expands Belt and Road investment, advances in electric vehicles and artificial intelligence, and enters into sharper economic competition with the United States, the real estate slowdown and domestic inequality have exposed new vulnerabilities. Enda Curran, Elizabeth Economy and Afsaneh Beschloss explain China’s last 25 years and what its next phase means for the global economy.