Why has China become an economic power to reckon with?

The correct answer is Option (2) → Integration of China’s economy and the interdependencies it has created.

Option (1) Limited interaction with other countries. — Incorrect. China’s strength comes from the opposite. Its economy is closely tied to the economies of its trade partners, and this very integration gives it influence; a country that kept away from others could not gain such influence.

Option (2) Integration of China’s economy and the interdependencies it has created. — Correct. Regionally and globally China has become an economic power to reckon with because the integration of its economy and the inter-dependencies this has created have given it considerable influence with its trade partners; even its issues with Japan, the US, ASEAN and Russia have been tempered by economic considerations.

Option (3) Chinese takeover of Tibet. — Incorrect. China took over control of Tibet in 1950, and Tibet is one of the major issues that historically caused tension between India and China. It is a political and territorial question, not a source of China’s economic power.

Option (4) Joining NATO as a top contributor to its finances. — Incorrect. NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, is the Western military alliance that the Baltic and east European states wanted to join after the Cold War. It is not linked to China’s economic rise.