Comment: Trading places? China, the United States and the evolution of the international political economy.

The remarkable economic rise of China and the recent turmoil in US financial markets inevitably raises questions about the respective fortunes of both countries. This paper assess the relative standing of the US and China by placing their relationship in historical context. It is suggested that China's accession to the WTO marked the highpoint of US influence and ascendancy. Since then, China's position has been steadily improving, something that the recent emergence of its first sovereign wealth fund and its subsequent role in bailing out distressed US financial institutions has dramatically highlighted. If China's form of 'state capitalism' continues to become more influential it will have major consequences for not only the US, but for the extant geopolitical order more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]