The 2008 financial crisis, which destroyed the mystique of Western economic prowess, led to a marked a shift in China’s global strategy. The Chinese began toying with the idea of abandoning their “peaceful rise” in favor of what then-President Hu Jintao defined at a July 2009 conference of Chinese diplomats as “the democratization of international relations” and “global multipolarity.”
在全球竞争中，超级大国的竞争对手必须利用其弱点。2008年金融危机摧毁了西方经济霸权，也令中国改变了全球战略。中国人开始放弃其“和平崛起”思想，2009年7月，时任中国国家主席胡锦涛在中国外交官会议上提出了“国际关系的民主化”和“全球多极化”的思想。