Global Power Transitions and Their Implications for the 21st Century

United States, the incumbent world leader, and China, a potential contender for the global leadership in the 21st century. BRICs), China is discussed as a potential contender for world leadership. United States and China is currently the driving force in their relations. It shapes their political arrangements, necessitating coordination and cooperation in policy issues. While economic collaboration and interdependence drive the relations between the two, they are not sufficient conditions for a peaceful transition, until their political and security relations are solidified and their preferences coalesce substantively.