ABSTRACT
There have long been calls that China should play by the rules of the international order. There are still those who believe that “China is failing to meet its full potential as a responsible player on the global stage” although the general impression today is that China is following most of the norms of international practice.1 What is now open to debate is the reality and the meaning of international order. There have been several reports on United Nations reform, perhaps the most controversial being those concerning the Security Council that could profoundly change the nature of that institution. Also, recent studies on humanitarian interventionism and the advantages and disadvantages of imperial traditions, not least about the United States invasion of Iraq and the speculations about US plans for similar invasion elsewhere, have highlighted some new uncertainties. All the same, in broad terms, there is agreement that the framework of the post-World War II international institutions established by the victors of that war still serves as the basis for international order.2
