A Critical Decade

China's Foreign Policy (2008–2018)

Zhiqun Zhu

• Publisher: WSPC
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9789811200793
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: International Relations
• Index: Politics & International Relations

China emerged as a major economic, diplomatic, and military power during the critical decade from 2008 to 2018. As a result, China's foreign policy has become more active and dynamic. This book provides a unique perspective to understand Chinese foreign policy during this decade by examining continuities and changes in both internal and external factors that have shaped China's development. The book focuses on key challenges in China's diplomacy such as US-China relations, the Korean Peninsula, Taiwan, Japan, India, Chinese investment overseas, the Belt and Road Initiative, global and regional cooperation, soft power, etc. It also includes an extensive annotated bibliography of major recent publications on various aspects of Chinese foreign policy. This is the first scholarly book that studies the evolution and key challenges of China's foreign relations during the critical decade (2008–2018) when China grew into a crucial, sometimes assertive, power in international affairs.

Contents:

• Preface
• About the Author
• Chronology: Major Events Related to China's Foreign Relations (2000–2018)
• Part I: Overview:
  • Chinese Foreign Policy in a Rapidly Changing World: An Introduction
  • Chinese Foreign Policy: A Bibliographical Review
• Part II: Selected Essays on Chinese Foreign Policy Relations (2008–2018):
  • US–China Relations
  • The Korean Peninsula
  • China's Relations with India and Japan
  • The Taiwan Issue
  • Global and Regional Cooperation
• Part III: Challenges and Prospects:
  • Geostrategic Challenges of the Belt and Road Initiative
  • Going Global 2.0: China's Growing Investment in the West and Its Impact
  • Pitfalls in China's Soft Power Promotion
• Index

Readership: Academics, professionals, policy-makers and students interested in China's foreign policy, US-China relations, the Korean Peninsula, the Belt and Road Initiative, China's soft power.Chinese Foreign Policy;US–China Relations;Soft Power;The Belt and Road Initiative;Chinese Investment;The Korean Peninsula;China and Global Governance00

Part I
Overview

Chapter
1

Chinese Foreign Policy in a Rapidly Changing World: An Introduction

The decade from 2008 to 2018 is a significant period in contemporary Chinese history and politics. It was during this critical decade that China emerged as a major economic, diplomatic, and military power in the world. China’s rise is fundamentally shaping the 21st century world history.

In 2008, Beijing successfully hosted the Summer Olympics, with splendid opening and closing ceremonies. Dubbed the “coming out party” for China, the Olympics greatly boosted national pride at home and prestige abroad. By then the People’s Republic of China (PRC) had become a major player in international political economy. In 2010, it replaced Japan as the second largest economy and was projected to catch up with the United States within a decade or two. During the critical decade of 2008–2018, President Xi Jinping proposed “One Belt One Road” (一带一路) or the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the “Chinese Dream” (中国梦), and “a community with a shared future for mankind” (人类命运共同体), which would all have long-term impacts for China and the rest of the world. China also made progress toward achieving the “Two Centenary Goals” (两个一百年奋斗目标) — to finish building a moderately prosperous society by the time the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) celebrates its centenary in 2021, and to turn China into a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, and harmonious by the time the PRC celebrates its centenary in 2049. China is not a sleeping giant anymore; it has risen. Though it faces tremendous domestic challenges such as a widening income gap, a deteriorating environment, and growing public discontent, China continues to impress the world by making one achievement after another, which has added much confidence to policymakers in Beijing while causing concerns in other capitals. Undoubtedly, Chinese politics and foreign policy will have significant influence on international politics, economics, and security in the decades ahead.

Chinese foreign policy has been undergoing major transformations since the beginning of the 21st century. The emergence of Xi Jinping as a strong leader brought about many changes in Chinese politics and foreign policy. Deng Xiaoping’s dictum Tao Guang Yang Hui (韬光养晦, roughly translated as “keeping a low profile”) seems to be a thing of the past, giving way to You Suo Zuo Wei (有所作为, roughly “getting some things done”). Xi became General Secretary of the CCP at the 18th Party Congress in fall 2012 and President of the PRC in spring 2013. He consolidated power at the 19th Party Congress in fall 2017, adding the Xi Jinping Thought into the CCP Constitution. In March 2018, the Chinese Constitution was amended at the annual National People’s Congress (NPC) meeting, removing the two-term limit for presidency which was introduced during the Deng era and followed by Xi’s predecessors Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao. Meanwhile, Chinese foreign policy has become more active and assertive. On issues regarding China’s sovereignty, such as the South China Sea and Taiwan, China’s policies have become more forceful. China remains adamant and uncompromising on such issues related to its “core interests.”¹

China is more involved in global governance now. It first proposed the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in 2013. In 2015, the AIIB went operational with headquarters in Beijing and has provided valuable support for development projects in many Asian countries since then. The AIIB has quickly emerged as a dynamic international financial institution with members from countries in every continent. Even Japan and the United States, which initially did not support the new bank, have been working with China and other members of the bank. Also in 2015, China cooperated with other BRICS nations and established the BRICS Development Bank with headquarters in Shanghai, which promotes further financial and economic cooperation among the five major emerging economies.

China’s most ambitious foreign policy project during the decade is undoubtedly the BRI. First unveiled by Xi Jinping in 2013, the BRI has become one of the largest infrastructure and investment mega-projects in human history, covering over 70 countries, equivalent to 65 percent of the world’s population and 40 percent of the global GDP as of 2018. The BRI consists of the land-based Silk Road Economic Belt and the ocean-going 21st century Maritime Silk Road (丝绸之路经济带和 21 世纪海上丝绸之路) and aims to enhance connectivity and cooperation among countries along the routes, particularly Eurasian and African countries. Countries in faraway places such as Latin America, the Caribbean, and South Pacific have also been included in this massive development plan. The Chinese government asserts that the BRI idea may have come from China, but the dividends of cooperation are for all participating countries to share.

China continues to play a leadership role in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which is a major multilateral organization on Eurasian political, economic and security affairs and which expanded in 2017 to include India and Pakistan. In big power diplomacy, China has proposed “a new type of great power relations” (新型大国关系), particularly with the United States, but also with Russia, the EU, Japan, and India, in an attempt to promote cooperation and friendly competition and avoid conflict associated with the global power transition, or the so-called “Thucydides’ Trap.”²

Despite China’s enhanced power and growing influence globally, China faces some daunting challenges in its foreign policy. When China was weak, no one seemed to see it as a threat since it caused no discomfort among its smaller neighbors, let alone a superpower like the United States or an industrial power like Japan. But as an economic and military giant now, China has stoked anxieties among rivals and neighbors. As a result, its relations with the United States, Japan, India, Vietnam, Australia, and several other countries have all become more difficult and even deteriorated in recent years.

On balance, China’s bilateral relations with most countries are largely positive, but in its neighborhood, the PRC continues to be frustrated by disputes in the South China Sea and East China Sea and developments on the Korean Peninsula.³ In cross-Taiwan Strait relations, Beijing remains disappointed at no major breakthroughs despite its charm offensives and preferential economic policies toward Taiwan. The United States is unlikely to give up the Taiwan card any time soon, which is evidenced by the unanimous passage of the “Taiwan Travel Act” by both houses of U.S. Congress in 2017 and 2018, respectively. The Act was signed into law by President Donald Trump in March 2018. At the end of 2018, Trump signed another pro-Taiwan bill, the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act, into law. With a pro-independence party in power in Taiwan that refuses to abide by the so-called “1992 Consensus,” whereby both sides agree there is one China, but the exact meaning of one China is open to interpretation, cross-Taiwan Strait relations are unlikely to improve in the short term.⁴

India and China had a 70 plus day military standoff in the Doklam/Donglang area in the summer of 2017 before tensions were finally defused through diplomacy. Today India remains concerned about the BRI, especially the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that passes through the controversial Kashmir region. Despite moderate improvement in Japan–China relations by the end of 2018 with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s official visit to Beijing after a long hiatus of top-level exchanges, Japan has been uncomfortable about China’s continued rise and has worked with India to propose an Asia–Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC) partially in response to China’s BRI.⁵ The United States, Japan, India, and Australia have formed the so-called “Quad” to promote security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region. Though ostensibly not an anti-China club, many believe the Quad is shaping up to provide an alternate narrative to the China-centered development in the region.

Notably, China’s international image remains mixed and even poor in some parts of the world. Various global opinion polls conducted by Pew and others suggest that in general China enjoys favorable views in many parts of the developing world but more negative views in the West. As far as the South China Sea controversy is concerned, China is perceived to be violating international law and bullying small countries in its neighborhood, and no country has stepped forward to defend China’s position. In Africa and Latin America, China is often criticized for not helping promote governance, environment or human rights while focusing on trade and investment and extracting resources. In fact, the term “neocolonialism” is sometimes used to describe China’s exploitative practices in Africa, Latin America, and elsewhere. Upon closer examinations, not all such charges against China hold water, but China does need to work harder and do a better public relations job in presenting its preferred image of an open, peaceful, caring and responsible global power. With a deficit in soft power, there will be a limit to what China can achieve in its foreign policy.

Internal and External Factors

The international security environment remains fragile and unpredictable even as China continues to benefit from the current international system. Meanwhile, China’s domestic politics has become more complicated with multiple players vying for influence and with the reemergence of a strong leader. China’s decision-making process remains opaque, but changing international and domestic conditions will continue to shape China’s foreign policy. The Chinese government has to maintain a balanced foreign policy without succumbing to growing domestic pressures that demand tougher Chinese actions in international affairs. These external and internal factors will produce a dynamic, and sometimes inconsistent and contradictory, foreign policy in Beijing.

Pessimists tend to view China through the realist lens, while optimists often from a liberal perspective. China’s foreign policy since the end of the Cold War has received diverse reactions. On one hand, many countries welcome China’s growth and benefit from trading with its robust economy. China’s efforts to help combat poverty in developing countries have been appreciated by these governments. Its commitment to a peaceful international environment has also contributed to global development. In many regional and global affairs such as North Korea and climate change, China has played a positive and responsible role. On the other hand, China’s relations with the West and some of its neighbors remain delicate and even strained. Its practice in Africa and Latin America of focusing on expanding trade and snatching energy and commodity resources while paying little attention to other development issues has raised many eyebrows. Its human rights record, tight control in ethnic minority regions particularly Tibet and Xinjiang, and lack of transparency in military modernization continue to be sources of frictions in China’s external relations.

Uncertain about China’s long-term intentions, many of its neighbors have adopted a “hedging” strategy or a balanced approach. They remain engaged with China economically and diplomatically, but at the same time they reach out to the United States for security reassurance. For example, worried about big power rivalry in Asia, Southeast Asian nations have taken such a dual-track policy and have become some of the strongest advocates of strong relations with both the United States and China since they do not want to take sides between the two powers (Lemon, 2018). These countries also urge the two powers to maintain friendly ties and resolve differences peacefully.

Aspiring to be a global power, China seems aware of the need to balance its national interests and its increasing global responsibilities. Its foreign policy is not radical or ideological but more pragmatic, calculated, and sophisticated now. It is still in transition and will keep adjusting to the changing international and domestic conditions while upholding long-standing principles.

As the second largest economy, China is expected by the international community to play more leadership roles in world affairs, yet despite its expanding global reach, China considers itself a developing nation and does not want to shoulder too many responsibilities. China may be doing what it thinks is right to defend its national interests, but some of its behaviors are regarded assertive and even aggressive by ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle
• Series Editors
• Title
• Copyright
• Preface
• About the Authors
• Contents
• Chronology: Major Events Related to China’s Foreign Relations (2000–2018)
• Part I Overview
• Part II Selected Essays on Chinese Foreign Policy (2008–2018)
• Part III Challenges and Prospects
• Index