China in the World Bank, IMF, and WIPO: Understanding Trends in Global Governance Behavior

by James Frick

Overview

Previously one of the least connected states in the world, China is taking on a considerable role as a leading global power. It has participated and benefited from international organizations (IOs) while also influencing their institutional behavior, but it has also demonstrated limited compliance at times. China's behavior has shifted from following the rules to a desire to make and set the rules. China in the World Bank, IMF, and WIPO: Understanding Trends in Global Governance Behavior explores 40 years of China's participation within these organizations, drawing on in-depth interviews and analysis of annual reports, meeting minutes, consultations, and transcripts obtained from archived records to argue how China views its behavior can achieve its desired interests. James Frick paints a detailed picture to illustrate that in the context of relative shifts in power, variation in China's IO behaviors is predicated by the extent to which IOs conform to China's national interests. This rational behavior approach (RBA) outlines four strategies: rule-taking, rule-breaking, rule-changing, and rulemaking. As China's relative power increases over time, so does its bargaining power, leading to a more assertive rule-changing behavior as it attempts to adapt the organization to allow its ascendancy as a rule-maker.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781666963380
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	07/10/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	264
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

James A. Frick is associate professor and director of the Second Year Studies Distance Education Program at the U.S. Army War College.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 China's Behavior in International Organizations
Chapter 2 Conceptualizing Interests, Rules, and Power in IO Behavior
Chapter 3 China's Rising Influence in IOs and Beyond
Chapter 4 China's Fast Start in the WB
Chapter 5 China's Path to Rule Changing in the WB
Chapter 6 China's Slow Beginning in the IMF
Chapter 7 China's Path to Rule Making in the IMF
Chapter 8 China's Participation in WIPO: The First 20 Years
Chapter 9 The Transition of China's Behavior in WIPO: From Rule-Taker to Rule-Maker

Editorial Reviews

China in the World Bank, IMF, and WIPO deftly shows how China's global ambitions and interests respond to organizational level rules and practices. The book harnesses in-depth interviews, primary documentation, and secondary research to show China's rule-taking and rulemaking in three of the most important multilateral institutions in development, finance, and intellectual property. Claiming a seat at the table, China's intensifying activities within international organizations maximize the benefits and minimize the costs of working within the Liberal International Order.” —Roselyn Hsueh, Temple University, USA

“James Frick has written an authoritative analysis of China's complex and rapidly changing roles in the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and World Intellectual Property Organization. He makes a convincing case that China's actions in the institutions show, '…China's growing willingness to lead at the international level.' This is a perspective well worth considering amid ongoing debates in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere over the costs and benefits of investing the resources needed to maintain traditional leadership roles in these crucial organizations.” —Daniel Shields, Ambassador (ret.), USA

From the Publisher