Is (post-communist) China becoming a dominant economic power in South East Asia?

This chapter picks up the century-old communist idea that this system will one day evolve to dominate the capitalist system. Now that China is successfully catching up, it not only has gained considerable weight globally but it is also an emerging power in its own region of South East Asia. Immediately, the question arises as to whether this emerging power is going to use its growing power to emerge as a dominant economic hegemon, which, not being purely market-oriented, may change the rules of the game in international business and economics away from free competition on a levelled playing field to something else that the today rich countries may not turn out to be superior in. This question, of course is reminiscent of the equally century-old fear of a China with diverging norms and values.