Great (Power) Expectations: Charting the Evolution of Chinese Foreign Policy (original) (raw)

Is COVID-Era Assertiveness in Chinese Foreign Policy Novel

China Report, 2021

China has responded to criticisms of its handling of the COVID outbreak by an assertive foreign policy style referred to as 'wolf-warrior diplomacy'. This study argues that this does not represent a radical shift in Chinese foreign policy but exacerbates a pre-existing trend. We say that this assertiveness builds upon the twin pillars of 'core interests and the unambiguous exposition of the 'striving for achievement' policy adopted by China since Xi Jinping's elevation as the President in 2012. We outline China's response to its competition with the United States, based on heightened nationalism and practiced through centralised decision making.

Chinese Foreign Policy Under Xi

Routledge, 2017

There has been a discernible calibration of Chinese foreign policy since the ascension of Xi Jinping to the top leadership positions in China. The operative term here is adjustment rather than renovation because there has not been a fundamental transformation of Chinese foreign policy or ‘setting up of a new kitchen’ in foreign affairs. Several continuities in Chinese diplomacy are still evident. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has not wavered from its overarching strategy of rising through peaceful development. The PRC is still an active participant in, and shaper of, global and regional regimes even as it continues to push for reforms of the extant order, towards an arrangement that it thinks will be less unjust and more equitable. It seeks to better ‘link up with the international track’, perhaps even more so under Xi’s stewardship. Yet amid these continuities, it is clear that there have been some profound shifts in China’s foreign policy. From the enunciation of strategic slogans such as the ‘Asian security concept’ and ‘major country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics’; the creation of the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank; the pursuit of Xi’s signature foreign policy initiative, the One Belt, One Road; to a purportedly more assertive and resolute defence of China’s maritime territorial interests in East Asia – examples of these foreign policy calibrations abound. In short, this has not been a complete metamorphosis but there are real changes, with important repercussions for China and the international system. The burning questions then are What, Where, How and Why: What are these key foreign policy adjustments? Where and how have these occurred in Chinese diplomacy? And what are the reasons or drivers that inform these changes? This book seeks to capture these changes. Featuring contributions from academics, think-tank intellectuals and policy practitioners, all engaged in the compelling business of China-watching, the book aims to shed more light on the calibrations that have animated China’s diplomacy under Xi, a leader who by most accounts is considered the most powerful Chinese numero uno since Deng Xiaoping.

The diplomatic face of China's grand strategy: a rising power's emerging choice

The China Quarterly, 2001

Much of the debate about the rise of China since the early 1990s has addressed two questions: how fast are China's economic and military capabilities increasing; and how should the world, especially the United States, respond to this emerging great power (for example, contain or engage)? 1 Assessing the significance of China's growing capability and the advisability of alternative ways of responding to it, requires a grasp of the way leaders in Beijing seek to realize their nation's interests given the constraints imposed by their own resources and the international context within which they must operate. This article analyses such efforts by examining the role of diplomacy in China's grand strategy. It argues that after several years of ad hoc attempts to deal with the new challenges that accompanied the end of the Cold War, a clearer consensus on China's basic foreign policy line began to emerge among Party leaders in 1996. This consensus, tantamount to the country's grand strategy, has provided a relatively coherent framework for the PRC's subsequent international behaviour and the expected contribution of diplomacy to the country's security. 2 During much of the Cold War, Beijing's overriding challenge was to ensure a relatively weak China's security in the face of pressing threats from the superpowers. The priority was clearly to address core survival concerns (territorial and political integrity) and the imperatives for Chi-* In addition to cited publications, this article draws on approximately 105 hours of interviews the

China’s Assertive Foreign Policy and Global Visions Under Xi Jinping

Akademik incelemeler dergisi/Akademik incelemeler: sakarya üniversitesi sosyal bilimler enstitüsü dergisi, 2024

Since the late 1970s, China has integrated with the global economy and has shown a great economic development. By the second decade of the 21st century, it became the world's largest economy in some economic measurements. In addition to its economic development, it also showed great military development. The increase in its material power also increases the uncertainty about Chinese foreign policy. It is wondered which direction China will take in foreign policy in the future. The change in Chinese foreign policy has become more visible with Xi Jinping administration. Unlike previous leaders, President Xi has taken more active and self-confident initiatives in foreign policy. The Xi administration began to pursue an assertive foreign policy that did not shy away from showcasing China's growing power. Under Xi, China has taken ambitious initiatives to reshape its immediate neighbourhood and the international environment. However, during the Xi administration, there was also a noticeable increase in the challenges China faced in foreign policy. The increase in the number of countries wary of China's growing material power is one of these challenges. This study seeks to answer the question of how China's foreign policy stance has changed under Xi Jinping. What are the foreign policy orientations and goals of China's new administration? How do China's new orientations affect the country's foreign relations? This study first analyses the general

China's Assertive Foreign Policy Strategy. Insights from the 19th Party Congress

Tempo Exterior , 2018

This paper attempts to shed light on China’s assertive foreign policy strategy in Xi Jinping’s era. What is the nature of this strategy and how it differs from the foreign policy strategy established since Deng Xiaoping, are two questions that this paper aims to answer. By doing a textual analysis of data gathered from different authoritative sources, this paper argues, on the one hand, that there has been a continuity in China’s foreign policy strategy since Deng Xiaoping to Hu Jintao, followed by a transition between this latter and Xi Jinping, and finally an adjustment, from the “keeping a low profile” strategy to the “striving for achievement” strategy, since the year 2014. On the other hand, that the foreign policy themes and initiatives stressed by Xi Jinping at the 19th Party Congress held in October 2017, suggest that China will follow a more assertive foreign policy approach seeking to deepen the foreign policy actions implemented so far, aiming at turning China into a moderately prosperous society and a developed country, as well as increasing its worldwide influence. Keywords: Chinese foreign policy, foreign policy strategies, 19th Party Congress, foreign policy initiatives, assertiveness.

The Evolution of China's Foreign Policy: An Analysis on Strategic Shifts

As one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing economies, China’s actions on the global level have far-reaching implications for both regional and global security, economic stability, and international relations. China’s influential role internationally has significantly risen in the last couple of decades. It’s not surprising that its behavior at the UN Security Council is under increased worldwide observation and examination. By analyzing its foreign policy conduct, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive understanding on how China perceives the international community, how it interacts with it, and what implications its behavior may have for the future of global governance. Beijing’s diplomacy has undergone significant changes before and after Xi Jinping's presidency.

New Trends in Chinese Foreign Policy

Asian Security, 2017

This special issue attempts to examine some of the major new developments in China’s international relations since the 18th Party Congress in 2012. We suggest that new nuanced patterns in Chinese foreign policy have emerged. These include but are not limited to: subtle shifts in Beijing’s strategic thinking; an omni-directional peripheral policy that is increasingly “rebalancing” westwards; an evolving and more “flexible” brand of Chinese foreign policy assertiveness; a more sophisticated approach towards the handling of its maritime disputes; and new attitudes and ideas towards global governance.

Actors in the foreign policy process in China

As a direct result of China’s growing interdependence with the international community and the pluralization of Chinese society Chinese foreign policy decision making is becoming increasingly multi-layered. The Communist Party’s highest body Politburo Standing Committee remains the ultimate decision making actor yet there are new foreign policy actors emerging on the margins of traditional power structure vying for their voices to be heard. This paper will explore growing involvement of diverse actors associated with foreign policy making in China today. The paper will further shed light on who makes Chinese foreign policy formulation on what reasoning.