Editors' Summary

China's emergence as a global economic power and its growing engagement with Latin America have provoked both scholarly and popular debate. Some scholars contend that China is a rising imperial power scouring the globe for natural resources, exploiting less powerful nations, and rejecting international environmental agreements that would curb its profligate consumption of the world's natural resources. Others applaud China's unorthodox development strategies and portray China as a successful model for developing countries and as a welcome counterweight to U.S. economic and political hegemony. What will be the implications of China's rise for the future of international economic law and international environmental law and policy?