The Geopolitical Balance of the Asia-Pacific Region Post-Beijing 2008: An Australian Perspective

Abstract

What will be the nature of the relationships of the major Asia-Pacific Rim powers, including Japan, the United States and Australia with China following Beijing 2008? To what extent was China successful by means of Beijing 2008 in actually selling ‘brand China’ to the rest of the world, and particularly to its neighbours in the Asia-Pacific region? Were they able to achieve the soft power objective of changing the perception of how other nations perceive them? The overarching ambition of China was that by hosting a ‘successful’ Olympics they would further add to their credibility as a global power. To achieve this China had to overcome a series of major obstacles, including issues of human rights, governance and its reputation of being the world's biggest polluter. As the Beijing Olympics began on 8 August 2008 the global financial crisis was beginning to bite, and in this contribution it will be asked, to what extent did this negate any potential positive global or regional geopolitical or diplomatic outcomes that China may have otherwise elicited from their hosting of the Games? The centre of gravity of global geopolitical power is shifting to Asia with China being positioned as a future leader in the region. Did this process accelerate as a consequence of the Beijing Olympics, and to what extent can it said that the geopolitical balance in the Asia-Pacific region will in any way be altered as an outcome of the Games or will the effects of the global economic crisis neutralize the energy China was to draw from hosting the 2008 Olympics to power its advance to global leadership? These questions will be considered through the analysis of policies and actions of the Australian Labor Party government, led by Kevin Rudd, the Mandarin-speaking ex-diplomat, who gained power in late 2007.