Athens has upgraded its geostrategic position in energy

"The global environment was crucial to China's emergence," University of Virginia professor emeritus of foreign affairs Brantly Womack tells Kathimerini, a few hours after the conclusion of the workshop "Recentering Pacific Asia: Regional China and World Order," organized by the Institute of International Relations (IDIS) in Athens. China's rise in the global geopolitical arena and its influence in the Western world have turned a portion of experts to study the Chinese model of development. According to Dr Womack, "Peace enabled China to concentrate on development, while containerization and global value chains encouraged trade and investment."

Regarding China's transition to the augmented production model, Womack sees the evolution of ideology as crucial to its growth, pointing out that analysts overlook "domestic" factors. "Mao's leftism had stalled China's growth," he...