LONG-FORM ANALYSIS, Clément Guntern | Despite its image as a rising power and its grand ambitions, China’s plan to build a global empire is likely to face numerous obstacles. Corruption, an aging population, slowing growth... Here are the reasons why the road ahead is far from clear for Beijing.

In an unprecedented upheaval in human history, entire regions that had been synonymous with poverty and political chaos have emerged on the world stage. However, the West, which is largely responsible for this recent success, does not yet seem to have integrated the new global order: in the near future, it will no longer be the center of the world.