New Regional Initiatives In China S Foreign Policy

This book offers a theoretically informed study of recent Chinese initiatives to provide forms of regional economic governance; or as it is often termed in Chinese discourses, regional “public goods”. It does so by considering the evolution of Chinese thinking on international relations and the global order, and by considering how the development of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Belt and Road Initiative, and the putative Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership reflect this change in thinking – and the change in both Chinese objectives and tactics.

This book stands as a rebuke to any who would attempt to forward simplistic interpretations of China's rise. In place of parsimonious arguments, or an endorsement of any singular set of images (whether pacific or confrontational), it repeatedly calls attention to the remarkable complexity of China's emerging international profile. More specifically, the leading Chinese and American scholars working in the fields of Chinese foreign policy, international political economy, and national security, who contributed to this volume argue that while China appears to be entering a new era in its relationship with the outside world, such a development encompasses disparate, even contradictory, policies, and, as a result, there is a great deal of fluidity within China's place in world politics.

This volume explains China’s foreign policy from the perspective of its historical recovery after 1949 and the country’s subsequent rise as a great power, including its transformation into a global power. It also illuminates how China has, in tandem with its rise, developed an increasing array of political, economic, ‘sharp power’ and military capabilities that is helping it to further its increasingly expansive foreign policy objectives. The volume examines two key questions: What have been the implications of China’s rise for its foreign policy? And how has an increasingly powerful and confident China used a range of foreign policy instruments to pursue its expanding national interests in Asia and beyond? The volume is divided into three parts, covering the conceptualization and drivers of China’s foreign policy, China’s relations with the world, and the instruments of China’s foreign policy, namely its economic power, military capabilities and its ‘sharp power’ manipulation of information and relationships. It will be of interest to academics, students and researchers interested in understanding China’s role in world politics.

This study of Chinese foreign policy is intended for academics and graduates of Chinese studies and of international relations, international economics and those interested in decision-making theory.

There has been a discernable 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 and leader in, or shaper of, global and regional regimes even as it continues to push for reforms of the extant order, towards an arrangement which 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 amidst 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 and initiated 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 defense of China’s maritime territorial interests in East Asia—examples of these foreign policy calibrations (both patent and subtle) 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.

This book focuses on China’s future under Xi Jinping’s authoritarian leadership by examining various facets of the political, economic, social and foreign policy trajectories of contemporary China. It assesses Xi Jinping’s power dynamic as the ‘core’ leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and analyses the impact of Xi’s signature domestic policies which demonstrate his political authority within the domestic sphere. Moreover, the book presents Xi’s pro-active, assertive and action-oriented outlook as a foundation for China’s diplomacy in the ‘new era’. Bringing together an international set of experts in the field who explore critical facets of China under Xi Jinping that deeply influence the regional as well as the global order, the book investigates the impact of Chinese initiatives such as the grand Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB). Importantly, the book illustrates US-China relations and outlines how this relationship will intensify in the post-COVID-19 era, which is poised to be one of the biggest challenges and turning points of the ‘Asian Century’. Offering a timely insight into China’s future and the trajectory of Xi Jinping’s consolidation of power, this book will be of interest to academics in the fields of China Studies, Asian and International Politics and International Relations.

China’s recent rapid economic growth has drawn global attention to its foreign policy, which increasingly has had an impact on world politics. In contrast with China’s long-standing preference for bilateralism or unilateralism in foreign policy, recent decades have seen changes in the PRC’s attitude and in its declaratory and operational policies, with a trend toward the accepting and advocating of multilateralism in international affairs. Whilst China’s involvement has been primarily in the economic arena, for example, participation in the World Trade Organization and ASEAN Plus Three, it has more recently expanded into international security institutions, such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. This book records, analyzes, and attempts to conceptualize, this phenomenal development in Chinese foreign policy and its impact on international relations, with the emphasis on China’s active participation in multilaterally-oriented regional security regimes. Written by an impressive team of international scholars, this book is the first collective effort in the field of China studies and international relations to look at China’s recent turn to multilateralism in foreign affairs. It will appeal to students and scholars of Chinese politics and foreign policy, security studies and international relations.

Updating the papers from the 2011 Asan Conference to cover the end of 2011, this book reflects the state of analysis on the eve of the important 2012-13 transition to China's fifth-generation leaders.