In the concluding episode of her series, the leading China-watcher, Isabel Hilton, considers how Beijing is seeking to recast the international order from which it has conspicuously benefited over the last four decades.

A challenge to US predominance is neither wrong in principle nor a development which should necessarily prompt concern - but what are China's rules and how would it seek to lead an alternative approach to international order?

These questions have become more pressing as China has deployed its financial muscle, its role as a dominant trading partner and investor and new diplomatic vehicles of its creation to try and exercise coercive influence over other countries.

With the US consciously withdrawing from its long-standing leadership role in both specific regions and particular policy areas, China aims to use its growing influence - gained through institutions, organisations and policy frameworks of Western design - to reshape the rules of the international system and better serve its own interests.

Already, China is perceived to be a security threat in the East Asia and Pacific regions, while mistrust over the role of Chinese companies, such as the technology giant Huawei, is prompting Washington to try and curb their role in global markets.

Is this the beginning of an epic battle over who and which values should drive the international system? And, if it is, what would a world dominated by China's rules mean for countries like Britain?

Producer Simon Coates Show less