China: the New Leader of the Disaffected?

China made a good showing at the Bandung Conference, a showplace for those nations that share some degree of alienation from the superpowers (now the USA and, to the extent it can act cohesively, the European Union). China both offers an alternative to USA mono-hegemony and an example of a "Third World nation" that is transforming itself into a superpower (not an inevitability but certainly a strong possibility) and everyone at the Bandung Conference knows it. This is why the governments and firms of so many of the participating nations have turned to China for economic agreements and advice. And China needs to develop these closer ties because many of the nations at Bandung represent potential (or current) sources of raw materials, other inputs, and output markets to serve the future growth of the Chinese economy. Thus, while the U.S.A. continues to alienate more and more of those in the Bandung universe, China is doing its best to court them.