Link Search Menu Expand Document
Publications

This is the mobile-friendly web version of the original article.

The Digital Yuan and the BeiDou Satellite System - China’s Increasing Structural Power in an Interdependent World

Union College

Union | Digital Works

Honors Theses, Student Work

6-2021

Marina Angelopoulos

Union College - Schenectady, NY

Video: Union College Campus Tour

Recommended Citation Angelopoulos, Marina, “The Digital Yuan and the BeiDou Satellite System: China’s Increasing Structural Power in an Interdependent World” (2021). Honors Theses. 2430. https://digitalworks.union.edu/theses/2430

This Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Work at Union, Digital Works. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of Union, Digital Works. For more information, please contact [email protected].

  1. The Digital Yuan and the BeiDou Satellite System - China’s Increasing Structural Power in an Interdependent World
    1. ABSTRACT
    2. TABLE OF CONTENTS

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Honors in the Department of Political Science UNION COLLEGE March 2021

ABSTRACT

ANGELOPOULOS, MARINA. “The Digital Yuan and the BeiDou Satellite System: China’s Increasing Structural Power in an Interdependent World.” Department of Political Science, Union College. 2021.

ADVISOR: DALLAS, MARK

For decades, concerns over a rise of a powerful China have dominated mainstream media. China’s unprecedented economic ascent, growing voice in global decisions, and publicized industrial plans like Made in China 2025, have propelled the nation to the center of the world stage. In my thesis, I break down this subject to examine how China is attempting to increase its structural power and create new interdependencies through the buildup of certain networked technologies. Guided by foundational international political economy literature regarding structural power and interdependence, I explore the implications of two technological advancements: China’s digital yuan (DCEP), and the BeiDou satellite system on global interdependency structures. Although faced with limitations regarding international buy-in, China’s use of both the BeiDou satellite system and the DCEP systems poses credible threats to the postwar power systems dominated by the United States and could redistribute global power.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • Introduction

  • Chapter 1 – China’s Economic Growth and Industrial Trajectory

    • 1.1 Overview of Made in China 2025

    • 1.2 Implementation Strategies of MIC2025

  • Chapter 2 – Interdependence and Structural Power Literature Review

    • 2.1 Interdependence Literature

    • 2.2 The New Interdependence Approach

      • New-New Interdependence: Protectionism and Weaponization

    • 2.3 Structural Power Literature

  • Chapter 3 – Case Studies: China’s Digital Yuan and BeiDou Satellite System

    • 3.1 China’s Digital Yuan

      • Cryptocurrencies and Digital Currencies in the International Economy

      • Characteristics of the Digital Yuan

      • Structural Power and Interdependency Implications of the Digital Yuan

    • 3.2 “Serve the World and Benefit Mankind”: China’s BeiDou Global Navigation System

    • A Brief History of GNSS

    • Characteristics of the BeiDou GNSS and China’s Objectives

    • Structural Power and Interdependency Implications of BeiDou

  • Conclusion

  • Works Cited

Table of contents