A world turned upside down: the rise of China and the relative economic decline of the West

The last 30 years have seen a dramatic reshaping of the geography of the world economy. China and the Asia-Pacific region have witnessed rapid economic growth. Drawing on Wallerstein’s and Hobson’s work on the changing structure of the world economy and focusing on a number of economic changes that have taken over the last 30 years, including a analysis of changes in gross domestic product (GDP) manufacturing output, exports, foreign trade balances and GDP per capita, this paper concludes that, on most measures, the West is clearly in long-term relative economic decline and that the rate of change has increased since the 2008 global financial crisis. The centre of gravity of the world economy has undeniably shifted from West to East.