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At the 17th ASEAN Regional Forum in 2010, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi reminded everyone that "China is a big country and all the other countries are small countries; this is a fact." Though Brunei is the smallest of all the ASEAN states in both population and GDP, the level of Chinese investment in the sultanate (cumulated direct investment and construction contracts divided by 2018 GDP) is much higher than in most other ASEAN states. This paper analyzes the Belt and Road stakes for both Brunei and China and Brunei's response to the Chinese proposals, showing that in spite of its smallness, the sultanate still seems able to preserve its own interests to a certain extent, thanks to its balanced foreign policy and its financial resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asia's middle powers face a trilateral dilemma stemming from their relationships with the U.S. and China. This paper uses the Australian example to examine the dilemma. It shows that Australia has bound itself to the U.S. because of domestic political factors, cost considerations, a belief that it can keep its interests separate, and its perception of regional threats. The paper then argues that others are likely to resolve their trilateral dilemmas in ways that make the regional strategic dynamic more competitive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a critical overview of Australian, Chinese, and American perspectives on trilateralism, with a detailed discussion of Australian debates on the matter. Its aim is to trace the evolution of the changing discourse on the rise of China, examine major debates in Australia, and provide both an intellectual background and an overview for this special issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the origin and historical development of independent candi-dates in People's Congress elections of mainland China. It discusses the motives and strategies of independent candidates, and how the Party-state copes with the growing independent candidate movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the authors discuss China's strategic interest in expanding its relations with Cambodia. The authors note that China believes Cambodia is important for China to project greater influence in the Southeast Asia region and to act as a buffer between China's rivals. The article also notes that a relationship with Cambodia could also weaken the United States' hegemony. Such diplomacy on China's part and its increasing regional power could cause some concern for other traditional hegemonic countries.

COVID-19 generated significant anti-Chinese sentiment in South Korea. Domestic elite-level narratives regarding China at the pandemic's onset were highly polarized: conservative parties advocated border shutdowns, emphasizing China as originating the virus, while progressive parties warned that this would incite xenophobia. Did these narratives shape anti-Chinese sentiment, and what are their foreign policy effects? Using social media data, I show that despite the polarized narratives at the elite level, attitudes of both conservative and progressive voters became unfavorable toward China following COVID-19's onset. Furthermore, statistical analyses of survey data show that this blame is strongly associated with negative perceptions of China. Although substantively not directly linked to foreign policy, blame of China is strongly associated with rejection of foreign policy alignment with China and a shift toward supporting alignment with the US. These results have implications for understanding public support of South Korea's foreign policy amid US--China bifurcation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By focusing on the impact of Chinese engagement in Uzbekistan, this article promotes an understanding of the motivations of Central Asian states such as Uzbekistan in strategically engaging China. Although China's Belt and Road Initiative has received wide coverage, few details of other Chinese projects and their impacts have been analyzed. The article aims to fill in this gap by outlining the latest project details of Chinese engagement and their impact in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Russia's decision to invade Ukraine in February 2022 posed challenges for the People's Republic of China and its priorities. This article assesses the Chinese party-state's response across four dimensions: informational, diplomatic, economic, and military-strategic. Beijing has been most supportive of Moscow in the informational and diplomatic arenas; its economic posture has been mostly self-interested, and military support for Russia has remained more or less constant. China's stance on the conflict in Ukraine appears to be shaped by several factors: a perceived need to counter the United States; the desire to support Russia while minimizing the costs of doing so to Chinese interests; China's desire for internal political stability and particular features of its domestic political system that affect foreign policy decision-making; and Beijing's evolving assessments of what the Ukraine conflict might foretell for Taiwan. The article summarizes China's interests at the time the conflict began, outlines the party-state's response, and assesses potential explanations for that response, with specific attention to implications for Taiwan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ongoing reassessments in U.S. strategy in the Asia-Pacific have coincided with a major growth in Sino-Australian economic relations. The Australian-American alliance could be increasingly tested if U.S. policy planners are unsuccessful in generating more sensitive and proactive alliance security postures to ensure Australian support for key U.S. interests in the Asia-Pacific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses Japan's renewed interest in regionalism as a way of soft balancing diplomacy that counters increasing Chinese influence. The article notes that an alliance with the United States that is considered a hard balancing diplomatic strategy is considered insufficient because of Japan's reliance on the Chinese economy for the success of its own economy and prosperity. Japan has made some overtures to other Asian countries to establish a regional economy, but has taken no significant steps to implement such a policy.

The Taiwan policy of China's third leadership generation focuses primarily on the hope that the Taiwan issue will not delay or undermine the progress of China's economic development. China's Taiwan policy is founded on two basic pillars: "utilizing the U.S. to suppress Taiwan" and "appealing to the Taiwanese public." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I coded 166 pieces published in the Kantipur and Nagarik daily newspapers from 2008 to 2016 to analyze Nepalese media perception of the growing claims of India-China competition in Nepal. India is perceived as primarily responsible for the political instability in Nepal, and India-China competition is perceived as a secondary, much smaller factor. China itself is not perceived as contributing to political instability in Nepal; it is perceived as indifferent to Nepalese politics. Indian over-engagement, suggestions, and even pressures in Nepal are perceived as interventions in Nepalese politics, while China has successfully cultivated an image of cooperation and of indifference to internal Nepalese affairs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the efforts of a Chinese subnational government, Guangxi Province's Shanglin County, to support local residents as they participated in galamsey, a local reference for unregistered artisanal gold mining in Ghana. This resulted in a diplomatic crisis that complicated Sino-Ghanaian relations and threatened Beijing's efforts to access Ghana's energy resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surveying China in 2015, this article focuses on how the Xi leadership dealt with several of the most complex economic and security challenges it faced during the year, in particular: sustaining economic growth; responding to social unrest; confronting environmental problems; managing foreign relations in Southeast Asia and the South China Sea; reforming and modernizing the People's Liberation Army; and managing cross-Strait relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a conflict transformation framework, this article demonstrates that positive transformations have taken place in the South China Sea between 1991 and 2007. Even though these transformations have been weakened in recent years, particularly regarding the actor aspect, it is concluded that a major armed conflict is still highly unlikely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowhere is China's aid program both more important and yet less understood than with North Korea. This article examines two puzzles: China's aid to North Korea coexists with a discriminatory trading relationship, and China continues to provide aid even as it tightens economic sanctions on North Korea's nuclear program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines KimDae Jung's 1998-2002 Sunshine Policy toward North Korea and the mutual reassurances between Taiwan and China from 2008 to 2013. Furthermore, it explores factors contributing to the failure of trust-building in the two cases, and the implications for reassurance theory as well as the prospects for inter-Korean and cross-Taiwan Strait relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tensions in the Asia-Pacific region are rising as a consequence of the U.S. "pivot" to Asia and China's increasingly assertive foreign policy. Other states in the region must try to reconcile potentially conflicting economic and strategic imperatives as a consequence. Australia illustrates these dilemmas. We ask what role regional institutions can play. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In responding to China's rise, the best strategy for Australia involves a combination of accommodation and "soft balancing.'' The viability of this strategy is related to the extent to which U.S.-China relations are cooperative or conflictual. Recent Australian governments have been successful in implementing this preferred strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although China's use of the WTO dispute settlement system has increased, its legal actions remain less aggressive than those of other large economies. This article examines how China's subsidy policies make Chinese leaders reluctant to use WTO dispute settlement mechanisms in resolving trade disputes with other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tendency for Chinese foreign policy elites to securitize culture in international relations by portraying it as a zone of intense contestation with other states suggests that China's rise will be rocky. Some seek to defend China's cultural autonomy from American hegemony, others, to establish Chinese domination over weaker states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese replacement of the U.S. dollar by the renminbi as the leading international currency appears unlikely, at least in the foreseeable future, owing to weakness in China's international political power and its economy, but the renminbi could develop into an Asian regional currency to some extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fast aging in Northeast Asia has significant implications for the geopolitics and security dynamics of the region. The long-term impact of graying populations and substantial increases in social security spending might limit the regional arms race. By 2030, Japan, South Korea, and China will become too old for military rivalry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the causes of North Korea's failure to pursue export-oriented industrialization, and examines whether Sino-North Korean economic cooperation might facilitate such a transformation or not. It concludes that Sino-North Korean economic interactions are more likely to reinforce North Korea's traditional resource dependency than to stimulate export-oriented industrialization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses conflict in the South China Sea and its Islands, focusing on a lack of resolution of disputes over sovereignty and control involving China and ASEAN countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines. The author highlights international, regional, and bilateral strategies for resolving conflict in the South China Sea, including discussions of a lack of involvement by the United Nations (U.N.), Track-2 (nongovernmental) diplomacy efforts, and foreign relations between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Vietnam. It is suggested that balancing strategies involving outside countries such as the U.S. may preserve the status quo in the South China Sea region.

This article discusses the political and economic landscape of Vietnam during 2011. Topics include the macroeconomic imbalances caused by a lack of coherent government and their implications on public perception of the political leadership, the involvement of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in the Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group (VINASHIN) corruption scandal, and a Politburo structure indicating a break in Vietnamese Communist institutional norms that had a strong impact on Vietnam's foreign relations with the U.S. and China.

The article focuses on the relation between China and Taiwan, as well as South and North Korea. It examines the success of China and Taiwan in functionalist cooperation and exchange despite its failure to shift economic cooperation into political cooperation through a neo-functionalist political package deal. It also explores aspects that influence the regression of the economic cooperation and human exchanges between North and South Korea. It notes the move of China and Taiwan in utilizing functionalism to augment economic cooperation without touching the issue of sovereignty. Furthermore, it cites integration patterns of divided countries basing on inter-Korean and cross-Strait relations, and discusses their implications on regional integration theories.

The article focuses on China's "unconscious power" over Mongolia's environmental security sector. Information is provided on how China's demand for legal and illegal non-renewable resources has created Malaysian dependence on Chinese trade, how Malaysia is too weak politically to enforce or stop harmful environmental activity, and the interdependence of the two nations. Environmental problems that Malaysia faces due to Chinese demand are listed as: the decimation of wildlife populations through illegal trade, desertification caused by large goat populations, and illegal logging.

The article discusses foreign relations between China and Vietnam, from the 1980s to the early 21st century. It focuses on the relevance of economic factors for promoting peaceful diplomacy. The asymmetry of the two countries, in terms of their relative power and resources, is mentioned. A Chinese initiative to promote peaceful economic development is described, and the engagement of Vietnam in a productive partnership during the 21st century is noted. This is contrasted with a tense situation in the late 20th century that involved disputes about geopolitical issues, such as the border between China and Vietnam.

In this article the author examines China's involvement and ambitions in the Antarctic region. According to the author Chinese involvement in the Antarctic has evolved and entered a new phase. Scientific activities on the part of the Chinese have increased in the Antarctic region and China is seeking an increased leadership role in the area. The central focus of the article is an examination of the association of increased Chinese activities in the Antarctic and China's foreign and domestic policies.

In this article the author examines aspects of Chinese international relations current during July 2010. The author notes that China is in pursuit of the promotion of cross border initiatives and networks to create a common good in the region. The drive to create these regional networks is based on a China's apprehension about losing its influence to other nations and through a desire for an open economic order to pursue Chinese interests. According to the article the actor best equipped to use these networks is also the strongest.

This article discusses the increasing political roles of Taiwanese business people, called taishang, in the relations between Taiwan and China under the policy of Hu Jintao, president of the People's Republic of China. This article explains why the efforts of China to use Taiwanese business people to gain political leverage over Taiwan will most likely not work. The 2008 election of new Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou signaled a new effort to promote increased interaction and economic integration with China, hoping that it would lead to eventual peace between the two governments.

The article examines an aspect of the status of international security relations between Japan and the Philippines. The question is examined in light of the Chinese government's attempt to disrupt the strategic affiliation both countries have with the United States. The central focus of the article is the author's contention that the governments of Japan and the Philippines are obliged to create a security alliance that is not only military in nature but that includes a political element that will allow the two nations to engage with China.

The article discusses the state of foreign relations between Indonesia and China current in 2009. The author notes that relations between the two countries have improved steadily since 1998. The central focus of the article is the author's contention that the re-engagement of Indonesia with China is the result of alterations in Indonesia's domestic politics and government. The change is also attributed to the Chinese adoption of a foreign policy position with regard to the countries of South-east Asia.

Washington has two long-term interests toward China: promoting a profitable, equitable economic relationship and managing Beijing's challenge to the U.S.-led international order. Although recent policy has achieved many tactical successes in these areas, the predominant record is one of broader strategic failure in the face of the rise of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While few Chinese observers currently suspect that Washington seeks formal Taiwanese independence, a sizable majority believes the United States is striving to preserve Taiwan's de facto separation to check China's rise. This view is both unduly pessimistic and destabilizing. Accordingly, Washington should work to correct it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the debate among relevant sections of Russia's foreign policy elite regarding the country's military-technological cooperation policy with China and changing views under Presidents Yeltsin and Putin. Russian views are ambivalent at best and significantly affected by the dynamics of U.S.-Russian relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-term political, economic, and military trends are reshaping the security environment in the Taiwan Strait in potentially destabilizing ways and undermining the "one China" framework. The United States has become more deeply involved in cross-strait relations to maintain stability and preserve the status quo, but this approach may not be sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article highlights China's interactions within intergovernmental organizations, a dynamic that has evolved in a liberal direction. The assertion is made that China's foreign policy behavior is no longer adequately explained solely by realist models and that, instead, we must look to neo-liberal institutionalism in order to describe and predict China's behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current crisis in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has resulted in an explosive increase in the illegal migration of North Koreans to Northeast China. The refugees' presence is seen as a nuisance by all sides involved, but their experience is increasingly influencing domestic policy in North Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]