Christopher A. Ford
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813192635
- eISBN:
- 9780813135519
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813192635.003.0017
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
The Chinese leadership found the Warring States period a useful model to help explain the basic pluralist nature of the modern international system and the alleged predatory onslaught of aspiring ...
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The Chinese leadership found the Warring States period a useful model to help explain the basic pluralist nature of the modern international system and the alleged predatory onslaught of aspiring non-Chinese hegemons such as the former Soviet Union and the US. The explanatory and justificatory framework that pitted foreign hegemonism against Chinese antihegemonic virtue became a powerful undercurrent in Chinese policymaking. Traditional East Asian and specifically Confucian ideals grounding the legitimacy of political authority in moral virtue virtually require Beijing to distinguish itself from the “selfish” pursuit of power that characterizes other countries. In dealing with its more powerful neighbors, scholars say China chooses to adopt a “calculative” strategy learned from the Warring States period to keep a relatively low and nonprovocative profile as a means to buy time until it is strong enough and fully prepared to make its own move. Since the end of the Cold War, China has focused on maintaining its rapid export-driven economic growth as the key to the restoration of its status and significance in the world stage but, at the same time, convincing the rest of the world that there is nothing threatening in these developments. However, as its strength grows, China may become more assertive in insisting on the sort of Sinocentric system hierarchy that its history teaches it to expect and its traditional notions of power and legitimacy impel it to demand. For now, China seems to regard the Westphalian conception of world order as being useful enough to justify continued adherence. Yet traditional statecraft teaches the importance of strategic misdirection and the utility of “mixing truths and falsehood” in pursuit of state goals. Thus, it is very difficult to discern where China's heart truly lies today or to predict its future intentions.Less
The Chinese leadership found the Warring States period a useful model to help explain the basic pluralist nature of the modern international system and the alleged predatory onslaught of aspiring non-Chinese hegemons such as the former Soviet Union and the US. The explanatory and justificatory framework that pitted foreign hegemonism against Chinese antihegemonic virtue became a powerful undercurrent in Chinese policymaking. Traditional East Asian and specifically Confucian ideals grounding the legitimacy of political authority in moral virtue virtually require Beijing to distinguish itself from the “selfish” pursuit of power that characterizes other countries. In dealing with its more powerful neighbors, scholars say China chooses to adopt a “calculative” strategy learned from the Warring States period to keep a relatively low and nonprovocative profile as a means to buy time until it is strong enough and fully prepared to make its own move. Since the end of the Cold War, China has focused on maintaining its rapid export-driven economic growth as the key to the restoration of its status and significance in the world stage but, at the same time, convincing the rest of the world that there is nothing threatening in these developments. However, as its strength grows, China may become more assertive in insisting on the sort of Sinocentric system hierarchy that its history teaches it to expect and its traditional notions of power and legitimacy impel it to demand. For now, China seems to regard the Westphalian conception of world order as being useful enough to justify continued adherence. Yet traditional statecraft teaches the importance of strategic misdirection and the utility of “mixing truths and falsehood” in pursuit of state goals. Thus, it is very difficult to discern where China's heart truly lies today or to predict its future intentions.
David Shambaugh and Ren Xiao
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199937479
- eISBN:
- 9780199980727
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199937479.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This chapter examines the perceptions of China's international relations experts primarily based in research institutes and universities, as well as some foreign policy officials. While the Chinese ...
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This chapter examines the perceptions of China's international relations experts primarily based in research institutes and universities, as well as some foreign policy officials. While the Chinese internet, blogosphere, and newspapers are rife with opinion concerning world affairs, very little systematic evidence is available concerning public perceptions of international affairs. The only recent published public opinion survey known at the time of writing appeared in December 2009, by the China Academy of Social Sciences. Generally speaking this survey finds that the Chinese public's attitude toward the United States is mixed to poor, positive toward Russia, mixed but essentially optimistic about Europe, and mixed to poor about Japan.Less
This chapter examines the perceptions of China's international relations experts primarily based in research institutes and universities, as well as some foreign policy officials. While the Chinese internet, blogosphere, and newspapers are rife with opinion concerning world affairs, very little systematic evidence is available concerning public perceptions of international affairs. The only recent published public opinion survey known at the time of writing appeared in December 2009, by the China Academy of Social Sciences. Generally speaking this survey finds that the Chinese public's attitude toward the United States is mixed to poor, positive toward Russia, mixed but essentially optimistic about Europe, and mixed to poor about Japan.
William A. Callahan
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199549955
- eISBN:
- 9780191720314
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199549955.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, International Relations and Politics
Summarizes the main points of China: The Pessoptimist Nation, and draws conclusions about what China's identity – security dynamic means for the United States and the EU, before looking at how ...
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Summarizes the main points of China: The Pessoptimist Nation, and draws conclusions about what China's identity – security dynamic means for the United States and the EU, before looking at how China's public intellectuals are thinking about the future. It argues that rather than finding the core of “Chinese nationalism,” the book shows how Chinese identity emerges through the interplay of positive and negative feelings that intertwine China's domestic and international politics, and national security with nationalist insecurities. The book concludes that Chinese identity grows out of a dynamic of reciprocal influence that integrates official policy and popular culture. This interactive view of China's pessoptimist identity means that we need to rethink the role of the state and public opinion in Beijing's foreign policy‐making. The party‐state's pessoptimist structure of feeling actually narrows the possibilities for what it means to be Chinese by promoting a contentious paradigm of international politics. The book ends with a brief consideration of how China's opinion‐makers are thinking about their country's future – and the world's future.Less
Summarizes the main points of China: The Pessoptimist Nation, and draws conclusions about what China's identity – security dynamic means for the United States and the EU, before looking at how China's public intellectuals are thinking about the future. It argues that rather than finding the core of “Chinese nationalism,” the book shows how Chinese identity emerges through the interplay of positive and negative feelings that intertwine China's domestic and international politics, and national security with nationalist insecurities. The book concludes that Chinese identity grows out of a dynamic of reciprocal influence that integrates official policy and popular culture. This interactive view of China's pessoptimist identity means that we need to rethink the role of the state and public opinion in Beijing's foreign policy‐making. The party‐state's pessoptimist structure of feeling actually narrows the possibilities for what it means to be Chinese by promoting a contentious paradigm of international politics. The book ends with a brief consideration of how China's opinion‐makers are thinking about their country's future – and the world's future.
James Reilly
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231158060
- eISBN:
- 9780231528085
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231158060.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
The rise and influence of public opinion on Chinese foreign policy reveals a remarkable evolution in authoritarian responses to social turmoil. This book shows how Chinese leaders have responded to ...
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The rise and influence of public opinion on Chinese foreign policy reveals a remarkable evolution in authoritarian responses to social turmoil. This book shows how Chinese leaders have responded to popular demands for political participation with a sophisticated strategy of tolerance, responsiveness, persuasion, and repression—a successful approach that helps explain how and why the Communist Party continues to rule China. Through a detailed examination of China's relations with Japan from 1980 to 2010, the book reveals the populist origins of a wave of anti-Japanese public mobilization that swept across China in the early 2000s. Popular protests, sensationalist media content, and emotional public opinion combined to impede diplomatic negotiations, interrupt economic cooperation, spur belligerent rhetoric, and reshape public debates. Facing a mounting domestic and diplomatic crisis, Chinese leaders responded with a remarkable reversal, curtailing protests and cooling public anger toward Japan. Far from being a fragile state overwhelmed by popular nationalism, market forces, or information technology, China has emerged as a robust and flexible regime that has adapted to its new environment with remarkable speed and effectiveness. The book's study of public opinion's influence on foreign policy extends beyond democratic states. It reveals how persuasion and responsiveness sustain Communist Party rule in China and develops a method for examining similar dynamics in different authoritarian regimes. It draws upon public opinion surveys, interviews with Chinese activists, quantitative media analysis, and internal government documents to support its findings, joining theories in international relations, social movements, and public opinion.Less
The rise and influence of public opinion on Chinese foreign policy reveals a remarkable evolution in authoritarian responses to social turmoil. This book shows how Chinese leaders have responded to popular demands for political participation with a sophisticated strategy of tolerance, responsiveness, persuasion, and repression—a successful approach that helps explain how and why the Communist Party continues to rule China. Through a detailed examination of China's relations with Japan from 1980 to 2010, the book reveals the populist origins of a wave of anti-Japanese public mobilization that swept across China in the early 2000s. Popular protests, sensationalist media content, and emotional public opinion combined to impede diplomatic negotiations, interrupt economic cooperation, spur belligerent rhetoric, and reshape public debates. Facing a mounting domestic and diplomatic crisis, Chinese leaders responded with a remarkable reversal, curtailing protests and cooling public anger toward Japan. Far from being a fragile state overwhelmed by popular nationalism, market forces, or information technology, China has emerged as a robust and flexible regime that has adapted to its new environment with remarkable speed and effectiveness. The book's study of public opinion's influence on foreign policy extends beyond democratic states. It reveals how persuasion and responsiveness sustain Communist Party rule in China and develops a method for examining similar dynamics in different authoritarian regimes. It draws upon public opinion surveys, interviews with Chinese activists, quantitative media analysis, and internal government documents to support its findings, joining theories in international relations, social movements, and public opinion.
James Reilly
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231158060
- eISBN:
- 9780231528085
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231158060.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This chapter examines policy debates over China's relations with Japan from 1997 through 2008, highlighting interactions between elite policy advisors and the public. It combines analysis from 218 ...
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This chapter examines policy debates over China's relations with Japan from 1997 through 2008, highlighting interactions between elite policy advisors and the public. It combines analysis from 218 academic articles together with numerous Chinese writings from the decade that reveal the emergence of a subtle but significant shift in Chinese experts' views of Japan. Four elements stand out: (1) growing recognition that China's own actions can exacerbate a security dilemma with Japan; (2) acknowledgment of the costs of negative popular sentiments toward Japan; (3) a more nuanced view of Japanese society and politics; (4) and increased confidence in China's future power position through Japan. The chapter delves into this shift. Since the turn of the century, a new group has emerged as an important player in shaping Chinese foreign policy—the public. Through the use of various media such as the internet, the Chinese public have become far more informed, assertive, and engaged in foreign relations.Less
This chapter examines policy debates over China's relations with Japan from 1997 through 2008, highlighting interactions between elite policy advisors and the public. It combines analysis from 218 academic articles together with numerous Chinese writings from the decade that reveal the emergence of a subtle but significant shift in Chinese experts' views of Japan. Four elements stand out: (1) growing recognition that China's own actions can exacerbate a security dilemma with Japan; (2) acknowledgment of the costs of negative popular sentiments toward Japan; (3) a more nuanced view of Japanese society and politics; (4) and increased confidence in China's future power position through Japan. The chapter delves into this shift. Since the turn of the century, a new group has emerged as an important player in shaping Chinese foreign policy—the public. Through the use of various media such as the internet, the Chinese public have become far more informed, assertive, and engaged in foreign relations.
William A. Callahan
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199549955
- eISBN:
- 9780191720314
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199549955.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, International Relations and Politics
The rise of China presents a long‐term challenge to the world not only economically, but also politically and culturally. Callahan meets this challenge in China: The Pessoptimist Nation by using new ...
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The rise of China presents a long‐term challenge to the world not only economically, but also politically and culturally. Callahan meets this challenge in China: The Pessoptimist Nation by using new Chinese sources and innovative analysis to see how Chinese people understand their new place in the world. The heart of Chinese foreign policy is not a security dilemma, but an identity dilemma. Chinese identity emerges through the interplay of positive and negative feelings: China thus is the pessoptimist nation. This positive–negative dynamic intertwines China's domestic and international politics as national security is closely linked to nationalist insecurities. To chart the trajectory of its rise, the book shifts from examining China's national interests to exploring its national aesthetic. Rather than answering the standard social science question “What is China?” with statistics of economic and military power, this book asks “When, Where, and Who is China?” to explore the soft power dynamics of China's identity politics. China: The Pessoptimist Nation examines Beijing's propaganda system and its patriotic education policy to see how Chinese identity is formed through a celebration of ancient civilization and a commemoration of humiliation suffered in modern history. It shows how China's relationship with itself and the world takes shape in the pessoptimist dynamics of patriotic education policy and the national humiliation curriculum, national days and national humiliation days, national maps and national humiliation maps, foreign brothers and domestic strangers, and Chinese patriots and foreign devils. Together the chapters demonstrate how the identity politics of Chinese nationalism produce the security politics of Chinese foreign policy. They show how the pessoptimist link between China's dream of civilization and its nightmare of humiliation is not fading away. It provides the template of China's foreign relations that inflames popular feelings for future demonstrations, and primes the indignant youth for explosive protests. Callahan concludes that Chinese identity grows out of a dynamic of reciprocal influence that integrates official policy and popular culture. This interactive view of China's pessoptimist identity means that we need to rethink the role of the state and public opinion in Beijing's foreign policy‐making.Less
The rise of China presents a long‐term challenge to the world not only economically, but also politically and culturally. Callahan meets this challenge in China: The Pessoptimist Nation by using new Chinese sources and innovative analysis to see how Chinese people understand their new place in the world. The heart of Chinese foreign policy is not a security dilemma, but an identity dilemma. Chinese identity emerges through the interplay of positive and negative feelings: China thus is the pessoptimist nation. This positive–negative dynamic intertwines China's domestic and international politics as national security is closely linked to nationalist insecurities. To chart the trajectory of its rise, the book shifts from examining China's national interests to exploring its national aesthetic. Rather than answering the standard social science question “What is China?” with statistics of economic and military power, this book asks “When, Where, and Who is China?” to explore the soft power dynamics of China's identity politics. China: The Pessoptimist Nation examines Beijing's propaganda system and its patriotic education policy to see how Chinese identity is formed through a celebration of ancient civilization and a commemoration of humiliation suffered in modern history. It shows how China's relationship with itself and the world takes shape in the pessoptimist dynamics of patriotic education policy and the national humiliation curriculum, national days and national humiliation days, national maps and national humiliation maps, foreign brothers and domestic strangers, and Chinese patriots and foreign devils. Together the chapters demonstrate how the identity politics of Chinese nationalism produce the security politics of Chinese foreign policy. They show how the pessoptimist link between China's dream of civilization and its nightmare of humiliation is not fading away. It provides the template of China's foreign relations that inflames popular feelings for future demonstrations, and primes the indignant youth for explosive protests. Callahan concludes that Chinese identity grows out of a dynamic of reciprocal influence that integrates official policy and popular culture. This interactive view of China's pessoptimist identity means that we need to rethink the role of the state and public opinion in Beijing's foreign policy‐making.
Michael Lumbers
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- July 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780719077784
- eISBN:
- 9781781700808
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719077784.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, Political History
This chapter describes Lyndon Baines Johnson's ensuing interest in exploring means of nurturing moderate elements in Beijing, and the factors that ultimately derailed this policy review. It addresses ...
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This chapter describes Lyndon Baines Johnson's ensuing interest in exploring means of nurturing moderate elements in Beijing, and the factors that ultimately derailed this policy review. It addresses the final opportunity for reform in the last few weeks of Johnson's tenure in office. The Cultural Revolution effected a significant alteration of Dean Rusk's understanding of the People's Republic of China's role in Vietnam. US decision-makers continued to view China policy through the prism of Vietnam. The last six months of Johnson's presidency witnessed stirrings of change on both sides of the Pacific, with momentous implications for the future. US observers concluded that revolutionary fervor had peaked and moderate elements had outmanouevred hard-line Maoists in the latter half of 1967. A reorientation of Chinese foreign policy only became possible once the Chairman became disenchanted with his own grand enterprise of continuous revolution.Less
This chapter describes Lyndon Baines Johnson's ensuing interest in exploring means of nurturing moderate elements in Beijing, and the factors that ultimately derailed this policy review. It addresses the final opportunity for reform in the last few weeks of Johnson's tenure in office. The Cultural Revolution effected a significant alteration of Dean Rusk's understanding of the People's Republic of China's role in Vietnam. US decision-makers continued to view China policy through the prism of Vietnam. The last six months of Johnson's presidency witnessed stirrings of change on both sides of the Pacific, with momentous implications for the future. US observers concluded that revolutionary fervor had peaked and moderate elements had outmanouevred hard-line Maoists in the latter half of 1967. A reorientation of Chinese foreign policy only became possible once the Chairman became disenchanted with his own grand enterprise of continuous revolution.
Feng Zhang
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780804793896
- eISBN:
- 9780804795043
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804793896.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This concluding chapter explains the value of relationalism for examining motivational, strategic, and institutional formations in historical East Asian politics. It also highlights the key empirical ...
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This concluding chapter explains the value of relationalism for examining motivational, strategic, and institutional formations in historical East Asian politics. It also highlights the key empirical finding of expressive rationality in regional relations. A more important purpose of the chapter is to outline ethical relationalism as a distinct critical and normative International Relations theory and apply its perspectives to evaluate contemporary Chinese strategy. The theory provides the link between the past and present and suggests policy implications of this study. Chinese foreign policy already contains a rarely noted element of ethical relationalism. But it is in competition with other intellectual currents for policy influence and must be expanded and deepened if Chinese foreign policy is to realize its relational potential more fully.Less
This concluding chapter explains the value of relationalism for examining motivational, strategic, and institutional formations in historical East Asian politics. It also highlights the key empirical finding of expressive rationality in regional relations. A more important purpose of the chapter is to outline ethical relationalism as a distinct critical and normative International Relations theory and apply its perspectives to evaluate contemporary Chinese strategy. The theory provides the link between the past and present and suggests policy implications of this study. Chinese foreign policy already contains a rarely noted element of ethical relationalism. But it is in competition with other intellectual currents for policy influence and must be expanded and deepened if Chinese foreign policy is to realize its relational potential more fully.
Nicholas Khoo
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231150781
- eISBN:
- 9780231521635
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231150781.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
Although the Chinese and the Vietnamese were Cold War allies in wars against the French and the Americans, their alliance collapsed and they ultimately fought a war against each other in 1979. More ...
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Although the Chinese and the Vietnamese were Cold War allies in wars against the French and the Americans, their alliance collapsed and they ultimately fought a war against each other in 1979. More than thirty years later the fundamental cause of the alliance's termination remains contested among historians, international relations theorists, and Asian studies specialists. This book brings fresh perspective to this debate. Using Chinese-language materials released since the end of the Cold War, the book revises existing explanations for the termination of China's alliance with Vietnam, arguing that Vietnamese cooperation with China's Cold War adversary, the Soviet Union, was the necessary and sufficient cause for the alliance's termination. The book finds alternative explanations to be less persuasive. These emphasize nonmaterial causes, such as ideology and culture, or reference issues within the Sino-Vietnamese relationship, such as land and border disputes, Vietnam's treatment of its ethnic Chinese minority, and Vietnam's attempt to establish a sphere of influence over Cambodia and Laos. The book also adds to the debate over the relevance of realist theory in interpreting China's international behavior during both the Cold War and post-Cold War eras. While others see China as a social state driven by nonmaterial processes, the book makes the case for viewing China as a quintessential neorealist state. From this perspective, the focus of neorealist theory on security threats from materially stronger powers explains China's foreign policy not only toward the Soviet Union but also in relation to its Vietnamese allies.Less
Although the Chinese and the Vietnamese were Cold War allies in wars against the French and the Americans, their alliance collapsed and they ultimately fought a war against each other in 1979. More than thirty years later the fundamental cause of the alliance's termination remains contested among historians, international relations theorists, and Asian studies specialists. This book brings fresh perspective to this debate. Using Chinese-language materials released since the end of the Cold War, the book revises existing explanations for the termination of China's alliance with Vietnam, arguing that Vietnamese cooperation with China's Cold War adversary, the Soviet Union, was the necessary and sufficient cause for the alliance's termination. The book finds alternative explanations to be less persuasive. These emphasize nonmaterial causes, such as ideology and culture, or reference issues within the Sino-Vietnamese relationship, such as land and border disputes, Vietnam's treatment of its ethnic Chinese minority, and Vietnam's attempt to establish a sphere of influence over Cambodia and Laos. The book also adds to the debate over the relevance of realist theory in interpreting China's international behavior during both the Cold War and post-Cold War eras. While others see China as a social state driven by nonmaterial processes, the book makes the case for viewing China as a quintessential neorealist state. From this perspective, the focus of neorealist theory on security threats from materially stronger powers explains China's foreign policy not only toward the Soviet Union but also in relation to its Vietnamese allies.
Evan S. Medeiros
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804755528
- eISBN:
- 9780804768245
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804755528.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This book examines one of the most important changes in Chinese foreign policy since the country opened to the world: China's gradual move to support the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, ...
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This book examines one of the most important changes in Chinese foreign policy since the country opened to the world: China's gradual move to support the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, missiles, and their related goods and technologies. Once a critic of the global nonproliferation regime, China is now a supporter of it, although with some reservations. The author analyzes how and why Chinese nonproliferation policies have evolved so substantially since the early 1980s. He argues that U.S. diplomacy has played a significant and enduring role in shaping China's gradual recognition of the dangers of proliferation, and in its subsequent altered behavior.Less
This book examines one of the most important changes in Chinese foreign policy since the country opened to the world: China's gradual move to support the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, missiles, and their related goods and technologies. Once a critic of the global nonproliferation regime, China is now a supporter of it, although with some reservations. The author analyzes how and why Chinese nonproliferation policies have evolved so substantially since the early 1980s. He argues that U.S. diplomacy has played a significant and enduring role in shaping China's gradual recognition of the dangers of proliferation, and in its subsequent altered behavior.
William J. Norris
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801454493
- eISBN:
- 9781501704031
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801454493.003.0011
- Subject:
- Political Science, Asian Politics
This chapter examines the China Investment Corporation's (CIC) potential as an instrument of Chinese economic statecraft. The CIC is a sovereign wealth fund whose empirics indicate that it lies ...
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This chapter examines the China Investment Corporation's (CIC) potential as an instrument of Chinese economic statecraft. The CIC is a sovereign wealth fund whose empirics indicate that it lies somewhere between the two extremes of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) and the National Social Security Fund (NSSF). In the early days of the CIC, there was little state control over it and its predecessors. As the 2008 fiancial crisis unfolded, the State Council (and the Ministry of Finance in particular) consolidated its control of the CIC. This consolidation marked the second phase of the CIC case. This chapter first provides an overview of the origins, structure, and leadership of the CIC before discussing the sources and uses of the CIC's financing as well as its direct investments. It then applies the theory to better understand the CIC case as an instrument of Chinese economic statecraft. It suggests that the CIC will not be an effective tool for achieving China's foreign policy interests.Less
This chapter examines the China Investment Corporation's (CIC) potential as an instrument of Chinese economic statecraft. The CIC is a sovereign wealth fund whose empirics indicate that it lies somewhere between the two extremes of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) and the National Social Security Fund (NSSF). In the early days of the CIC, there was little state control over it and its predecessors. As the 2008 fiancial crisis unfolded, the State Council (and the Ministry of Finance in particular) consolidated its control of the CIC. This consolidation marked the second phase of the CIC case. This chapter first provides an overview of the origins, structure, and leadership of the CIC before discussing the sources and uses of the CIC's financing as well as its direct investments. It then applies the theory to better understand the CIC case as an instrument of Chinese economic statecraft. It suggests that the CIC will not be an effective tool for achieving China's foreign policy interests.
Michael Lumbers
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- July 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780719077784
- eISBN:
- 9781781700808
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719077784.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, Political History
This book tries to confirm that the Lyndon Baines Johnson presidency did not represent a period of stagnation, and that senior officials contemplated significant departures from long-standing China ...
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This book tries to confirm that the Lyndon Baines Johnson presidency did not represent a period of stagnation, and that senior officials contemplated significant departures from long-standing China policy more than was recognized at the time. It carefully reviews the personalities, ideas and events that shaped approaches to the People's Republic of China (PRC), and also examines the complex interplay between the Johnson administration's dealings with China and the Vietnam War. The Chinese foreign policy is then described. An examination of a relatively untapped element of Johnson's foreign policy is presented. Furthermore, the chapter provides a balanced assessment of Johnson's contribution to China policymaking as well as an overview of the chapters included in this book.Less
This book tries to confirm that the Lyndon Baines Johnson presidency did not represent a period of stagnation, and that senior officials contemplated significant departures from long-standing China policy more than was recognized at the time. It carefully reviews the personalities, ideas and events that shaped approaches to the People's Republic of China (PRC), and also examines the complex interplay between the Johnson administration's dealings with China and the Vietnam War. The Chinese foreign policy is then described. An examination of a relatively untapped element of Johnson's foreign policy is presented. Furthermore, the chapter provides a balanced assessment of Johnson's contribution to China policymaking as well as an overview of the chapters included in this book.
Sheng Ding
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- June 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780198767480
- eISBN:
- 9780191821479
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198767480.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
The Libyan Civil War and NATO-led military intervention present a case study of China’s evolving perception of the international order, its deliberations on foreign policy strategy, and its ...
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The Libyan Civil War and NATO-led military intervention present a case study of China’s evolving perception of the international order, its deliberations on foreign policy strategy, and its calculations of growing national interest overseas, particularly in the Middle East. While not happy to see the NATO-led military intervention, China’s responses and involvement were kept deliberately limited throughout the Libyan Civil War. This can be explained by Beijing’s political calculations as well as its lack of strategic means and diplomatic tactics to deal with regional conflicts in the post-Cold War world. In the aftermath of the war, with many advocating that Chinese foreign policy needs to be more flexible and proactive to protect the country’s national interests abroad, China has adopted new foreign policy initiatives and deliberated the ‘creative involvement’ approach.Less
The Libyan Civil War and NATO-led military intervention present a case study of China’s evolving perception of the international order, its deliberations on foreign policy strategy, and its calculations of growing national interest overseas, particularly in the Middle East. While not happy to see the NATO-led military intervention, China’s responses and involvement were kept deliberately limited throughout the Libyan Civil War. This can be explained by Beijing’s political calculations as well as its lack of strategic means and diplomatic tactics to deal with regional conflicts in the post-Cold War world. In the aftermath of the war, with many advocating that Chinese foreign policy needs to be more flexible and proactive to protect the country’s national interests abroad, China has adopted new foreign policy initiatives and deliberated the ‘creative involvement’ approach.
Sergey Radchenko
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780804798099
- eISBN:
- 9781503600133
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804798099.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, Political History
This chapter analyzes the border clashes between the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union in March 1969. It details the development of Chinese leader Mao Zedong's perception of the Soviet ...
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This chapter analyzes the border clashes between the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union in March 1969. It details the development of Chinese leader Mao Zedong's perception of the Soviet Union as a challenge to China's autonomy and the (cultural) revolution, underscoring Mao's failure to understand how the Soviet Union interpreted his actions as a credible threat. Employing his own frame of reference, Mao failed to grasp that the Soviet Union did not see the border conflict as a catalyst for internal mobilization and political control at home and in its satellite states, but as yet another manifestation of the seeming irrationality of Chinese foreign policy. Mao's surprise and feeling of hostile encirclement, as well as the deepening of Soviet distrust, paved the way in turn for China's famous rapprochement with the United States under President Richard Nixon.Less
This chapter analyzes the border clashes between the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union in March 1969. It details the development of Chinese leader Mao Zedong's perception of the Soviet Union as a challenge to China's autonomy and the (cultural) revolution, underscoring Mao's failure to understand how the Soviet Union interpreted his actions as a credible threat. Employing his own frame of reference, Mao failed to grasp that the Soviet Union did not see the border conflict as a catalyst for internal mobilization and political control at home and in its satellite states, but as yet another manifestation of the seeming irrationality of Chinese foreign policy. Mao's surprise and feeling of hostile encirclement, as well as the deepening of Soviet distrust, paved the way in turn for China's famous rapprochement with the United States under President Richard Nixon.
Feng Zhang
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780804793896
- eISBN:
- 9780804795043
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804793896.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Drawing on distinguished relational traditions in both China and the West, this chapter develops a relational theory to explain a distinct set of grand strategies that imperial China and its ...
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Drawing on distinguished relational traditions in both China and the West, this chapter develops a relational theory to explain a distinct set of grand strategies that imperial China and its neighbors may adopt in their interactions. The theory provides a new framework for understanding the strategic dynamics of regional politics under the condition of Chinese hegemony. It also affords a new perspective on the role of Confucianism in Chinese foreign policy: constraining in the grand strategy of instrumental hierarchy but causal and constitutive in the grand strategy of expressive hierarchy. Equally important, it uncovers an expressive dimension of regional politics that is almost universally ignored in the existing literature. The theory also posits a major facilitating condition of rationality and strategy: They are both relational outcomes conditioned by the degree of the conflict of interest in particular relationships.Less
Drawing on distinguished relational traditions in both China and the West, this chapter develops a relational theory to explain a distinct set of grand strategies that imperial China and its neighbors may adopt in their interactions. The theory provides a new framework for understanding the strategic dynamics of regional politics under the condition of Chinese hegemony. It also affords a new perspective on the role of Confucianism in Chinese foreign policy: constraining in the grand strategy of instrumental hierarchy but causal and constitutive in the grand strategy of expressive hierarchy. Equally important, it uncovers an expressive dimension of regional politics that is almost universally ignored in the existing literature. The theory also posits a major facilitating condition of rationality and strategy: They are both relational outcomes conditioned by the degree of the conflict of interest in particular relationships.
Feng Zhang
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780804793896
- eISBN:
- 9780804795043
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804793896.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This book explores the strategic and institutional dynamics of international relations in East Asian history when imperial China was the undisputed regional hegemon. It draws on both Chinese and ...
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This book explores the strategic and institutional dynamics of international relations in East Asian history when imperial China was the undisputed regional hegemon. It draws on both Chinese and Western intellectual traditions to develop a relational theory of grand strategy and fundamental institutions in regional relations. The theory is evaluated with three case studies of Sino-Korean, Sino-Japanese, and Sino-Mongol relations during China’s early Ming dynasty (1368-1424). The book argues that early Ming China and its neighbors adopted a variety of grand strategies in their interactions, including both instrumental strategies and strategies with a distinct Confucian expressive rationality. The strategic patterns showed that expressive rationality embodying Confucian relational affection and obligation was an essential, though not dominant, feature of regional relations. This finding challenges the Eurocentric International Relations literature that has little conception of expressive rationality. Providing an institutional analysis of the early-Ming East Asian international society of Chinese hegemony, the book also challenges the venerable tribute system paradigm in the traditional historical as well as the more recent International Relations literatures. Contemporary policy implications are suggested by outlining ethical relationalism as a critical and normative theory to critique contemporary Chinese foreign policy and assess the strategic impact of China’s rise.Less
This book explores the strategic and institutional dynamics of international relations in East Asian history when imperial China was the undisputed regional hegemon. It draws on both Chinese and Western intellectual traditions to develop a relational theory of grand strategy and fundamental institutions in regional relations. The theory is evaluated with three case studies of Sino-Korean, Sino-Japanese, and Sino-Mongol relations during China’s early Ming dynasty (1368-1424). The book argues that early Ming China and its neighbors adopted a variety of grand strategies in their interactions, including both instrumental strategies and strategies with a distinct Confucian expressive rationality. The strategic patterns showed that expressive rationality embodying Confucian relational affection and obligation was an essential, though not dominant, feature of regional relations. This finding challenges the Eurocentric International Relations literature that has little conception of expressive rationality. Providing an institutional analysis of the early-Ming East Asian international society of Chinese hegemony, the book also challenges the venerable tribute system paradigm in the traditional historical as well as the more recent International Relations literatures. Contemporary policy implications are suggested by outlining ethical relationalism as a critical and normative theory to critique contemporary Chinese foreign policy and assess the strategic impact of China’s rise.
Nicola Horsburgh
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780198706113
- eISBN:
- 9780191775277
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198706113.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
The conclusion brings together the main arguments of the book, and provides a definition of global nuclear order based on four core elements—nuclear deterrence, arms control, non-proliferation, and ...
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The conclusion brings together the main arguments of the book, and provides a definition of global nuclear order based on four core elements—nuclear deterrence, arms control, non-proliferation, and disarmament—as well as a comprehensive assessment of Chinese contributions to global nuclear ordering since 1949. Important contributions are identified across five distinctive phases for China: pre-detonation (1949–64); post-detonation (1964–76); reform and opening-up (1976–89); the post-Cold War period (1990–9); and the 2000s. An overall finding is that China initially navigated nuclear politics as a vocal outsider but has since become a valued insider. In understanding this transition, economic/technology, security, and image related variables prove insightful. The conclusion then goes one step further to link the changes that have taken place in China’s nuclear behaviour and its position in global nuclear order to its wider relationship with global order, and in particular China’s international behaviour as a rising power in the 2000s.Less
The conclusion brings together the main arguments of the book, and provides a definition of global nuclear order based on four core elements—nuclear deterrence, arms control, non-proliferation, and disarmament—as well as a comprehensive assessment of Chinese contributions to global nuclear ordering since 1949. Important contributions are identified across five distinctive phases for China: pre-detonation (1949–64); post-detonation (1964–76); reform and opening-up (1976–89); the post-Cold War period (1990–9); and the 2000s. An overall finding is that China initially navigated nuclear politics as a vocal outsider but has since become a valued insider. In understanding this transition, economic/technology, security, and image related variables prove insightful. The conclusion then goes one step further to link the changes that have taken place in China’s nuclear behaviour and its position in global nuclear order to its wider relationship with global order, and in particular China’s international behaviour as a rising power in the 2000s.
Robert R. Bianchi
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- February 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190915285
- eISBN:
- 9780190915315
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190915285.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
The rise of the New Silk Road is generating fierce debates over the emergence of new megaregions and their role in reshaping world politics. Chinese writers are avid consumers of and contributors to ...
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The rise of the New Silk Road is generating fierce debates over the emergence of new megaregions and their role in reshaping world politics. Chinese writers are avid consumers of and contributors to these discussions both at home and internationally. China’s growing interest in megaregional integration accompanied a sharp turn in foreign policy—from a defensive posture that feared provoking war with the United States toward a bold campaign to assert global leadership, economically and diplomatically. Gradually, Chinese leaders are beginning to realize that all of the emerging megaregions are developing lives of their own that cannot be directed by a hierarchical network centered in Beijing. This realization is forcing China’s policymakers to reconsider their traditional assumption that sovereignty belongs only to formal governments and the elites that control them rather than to the all of the citizens who comprise the national communities.Less
The rise of the New Silk Road is generating fierce debates over the emergence of new megaregions and their role in reshaping world politics. Chinese writers are avid consumers of and contributors to these discussions both at home and internationally. China’s growing interest in megaregional integration accompanied a sharp turn in foreign policy—from a defensive posture that feared provoking war with the United States toward a bold campaign to assert global leadership, economically and diplomatically. Gradually, Chinese leaders are beginning to realize that all of the emerging megaregions are developing lives of their own that cannot be directed by a hierarchical network centered in Beijing. This realization is forcing China’s policymakers to reconsider their traditional assumption that sovereignty belongs only to formal governments and the elites that control them rather than to the all of the citizens who comprise the national communities.
