I have not spent a lot of time trying to understand China but I am trying to figure out how this is going to go. I was reading someone who says that China has no interest in being a superpower along the lines of the last few, they have no interesting in "running the world" or proselytizing their beliefs, that all they are interested in is sucking up resources around the world for their benefit. Under this theory being on China's team will get people a better deal than not being on the team, but at the end of the day it is all about what is good for China. And they will not ever pretend otherwise.
I gotta admit that this looks like a strong possibility considering Tabet, how they are buying into Ukraine South America and Africa, and how they drove such a hard bargain with Putin on energy and so far dont seem all that interested in helping Russia battle the West. They are buying into contracts for goods, they are building infrastructure so those goods can get to china, they are however not handing out charity.
http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2010/sep/08/charitable-giving-country
Is China as the lone superpower going to be this kind of nightmare for the have nots of the world, for those who dont have something that China wants?