Monocle Foreign Desk - China is fast becoming, if it isn’t already, the world’s next superpower. But how questionable are the methods it’s using to sustain its influence over those it seeks to control, and does it really want to be leader of the not-so-free world? Andrew Mueller is joined by Isabel Hilton, Steve Tsang and Karen Middleton.

In summary, for long the North has acted to exploit the South for its own benefit. Arguably the current era sees exploitation still much alive through various international institutions. However, the poverty of the South cannot be solely blamed to policies and actions of the North, whether current or historical, as it is largely also due to the policies and actions of the South. Moreover, the division due to policies of the North (FDI, globalisation etc.) are making the division increasingly obsolete.