China is on the cusp of becoming a superpower. The transformation of Beijing s regional and global position over the last three and a half decades has received extensive attention from experts and opinion- and decision-makers across the world. The rationale and impact of specific policies of the Chinese state on the world and on its neighbouring regions cannot be addressed without a comprehensive assessment of the intentions and thought processes behind these policies. The responses of the states in the Indo-Pacific and beyond to China s rise is currently a mixture of trepidation, confrontation and cooperation. China Ascendant is an eclectic collection of articles by some of the finest minds in India and seeks to capture the pattern and complexities of Beijing s engagement with the world and the states around its rim-land. In these pages are insightful analyses on several facets of Chinese power economic, military, technological and political and they provide a peroration on China s societal trends, environmental profile, energy needs, media strategy and cultural influences.