This expert analysis looks at what the increasing economic and political prominence of China and other Asian nations means to the West and the rest of the world. Asia's Rise in the 21st Century is a wake-up call to the West, offering a sophisticated assessment of a group of nations that are becoming essential markets for U.S. trade, industry, and finance, even as they increasingly represent fierce competition for global markets. The work traces changes that launched the region down the path to potential economic and political ascendancy, and it looks at various factors, from politics to economics to demographics that affect Asia now and will continue to do so in the future. China's prominence is explored in the context of how it complements and competes with the rest of Asia, especially Japan and India, and how it interacts with other major emerging-market countries, such as Brazil, Russia, and Turkey. The book also looks at the challenge China's ascendancy poses to the assertion that a successful capitalist system must be accompanied by political democracy. Finally, the authors suggest ways in which Asia's rise can be accommodated in the West and elsewhere and offer thoughts on where Asia, and especially China, will be in 2030.