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Scholarly efforts to predict the future character of the U.S.-China relationship abound. Few however looks to leaders’ beliefs as valid explanatory variables. In this paper, we argue that state leaders’ belief systems are key to understanding both the states’ intentions and policy choices. We analyze China’s national defense white papers (1998-2015) published to date as the source material to gauge the core collective beliefs of three generations of Chinese leadership. The operational code framework is employed to conceptualize and measure these beliefs. Our results identified important crossgenerational changes in a few belief indicators. In the Xi Jinping era, for instance, the political world is seen as less friendly and cooperative strategies are viewed less favorably. In terms of tactics, the policy tools “threaten” and “promise” are viewed as significantly more useful by the current leadership than by past Chinese leaders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on China's political influence in international affairs, as mediated by Chinese economic integration with the BRI countries. We propose that the BRI plays a role in influencing partner countries to support China's presence in the international community, and the economic integration of the BRI positively mediates the willingness of partner countries to align with China in international affairs. This paper uses panel data from 147 BRI countries collected between 2009 and 2020, and the difference-in-differences method, to estimate the political influence of the BRI. The results suggest that the BRI motivates partner countries to support the growth of China's influence in international affairs. The results of the causal mechanism analysis indicate that a significant and positive association between the implementation of the BRI and China's influence is mediated by promoting Chinese contracts, trade overseas, and outward FDI. The examinations of heterogeneity demonstrate that BRI countries that are developing, non-landlocked, non-neighboring, having signed the memorandum of understanding or cooperation memorandum of understanding, or lacking a Chinese investment guide are more likely to support China's political presence. This paper concludes with insights into how China implements the BRI to enhance its political ascent in the global order by facilitating economic integration of the BRI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese initiatives of a geopolitical nature are being more and more frequently analyzed in the literature. At the same time, it is pointed out that at least since 2012 China has been pursuing an assertive and active foreign policy. Due to the importance of the Belt and Road Initiative project and also the 16 + 1 cooperation in the Central and Eastern Europe region, it is worth analyzing what the perception of China in this region is on the example of Poland. The study attempts to answer the question of how the increase in China's importance and its international engagement are perceived in Poland. The analysis of Polish papers published in 2003–2017 shows, and this is an argument, that Polish researchers more frequently present China in the categories of a threat and apply research terminology and tools within the realistic theory of international relations and this image is being reinforced, especially after 2013. The analytical framework of "China as a threat" and "China as an opportunity" occurring frequently in research is placed in this paper in theories of international relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic diplomacy receives growing interest in the field of international relations research ever since the end of the cold war. Despite the vast number of literature on economic diplomacy, there are not many studies measuring the effect of economic diplomacy quantitatively. The purpose of this paper is to propose a method to measure economic diplomacy using the event study method that observes the influence of specific events on stock prices. In this study, the summit talks between the EU and China are selected as specific events that are considered as a form of economic diplomacy, and Airbus stock price, the proxy of the reaction to the economic diplomacy, was observed to verify the influence of it. The study categorized the summit talks by the type of participants whether the top politicians were included or not. The result shows that, among all summit talks, the summit talks between top politicians between the EU and China influence the stock price of Airbus positively, and it is statistically significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper looks into the image of China in Slovakia. Following the period of relative disinterest of the media in majority of topics connected with China, media are starting to pay increasingly more attention towards China and various aspects of its development, domestic policy, and foreign affairs. Increased media coverage of China begs to ask the question what image of China the Slovak media are presenting to the public. The proposed article draws upon an extensive database of media pieces published or broadcasted by Slovak newspapers, TV stations, radios, as well as online media outlets in the period of 2010–2017. Using the method of qualitative content analysis, a selection of over 2600 media pieces are analyzed and coded for general sentiments and themes covered in the media. Secondly, the paper also analyzes the perception of China among Slovak political elites, drawing on interviews with key stakeholders among the most important political parties, as well as public perception based on several opinion surveys. The article concludes that while negative perception of China prevails in the media and among the public, it is not complex and prone to change. On the level of political parties, three distinct groups exist, defined by their levels of pragmatism and pro-China positions (pragmatic supporters, ideological supporters, and ideological opponents). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an ongoing debate about whether China's growing economic presence in the Middle East will eventually make it more politically assertive on the Middle Eastern affairs. This paper demonstrates, from a theoretical perspective of "path dependence," that China's promotion of the "Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence" since the 1950s as the guiding doctrine of its foreign relations has forged a "path" for China to follow, along which it has made and repeated promises against interventionism and imperialism to other countries including the Middle Eastern ones. It, in turn, has created a situation where moving away from that "path against interventionism and imperialism" will cause huge damage to China's reputation as a reliable non-interventionist partner to the Middle Eastern countries, and the "Global South" in general. As a result, China has refrained, and will arguably continue to refrain, from being too politically assertive on the Middle Eastern affairs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decades, China has rapidly increased its influence throughout the South Asian region, using both its hard and soft power tactics. China has succeeded in eclipsing India's influence and emerged as an important player in the region. China is making inroads in South Asia by making huge investments and constructing roads, highways, railways, sea ports, bridges, power grids, dams, and public buildings. China is pursuing a foreign policy that aims to advance its strategic and economic interests while trying to imbalance India's predominant position and contain India within the boundaries of South Asia. This is to prevent the rise of a peer competitor that can challenge or hinder the rise of China as a sole Asian power. This paper argues that the geostrategic situation of South Asian countries is such that they pose threats to India's security by aligning with the extra-regional powers. Hence, China's expanding strategic and security ties with South Asian countries have wider implications for India's security due to the complex and sensitive nature of its relationship with China. The theoretical approach of Power Transition Theory has been utilized to analyze the Sino-India power rivalry and China's growing threat to India's security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's vigorous involvement in the Pacific Island countries (PICs) is often surmised by scholars of international relations (Wesley-Smith 1; Pryke 2) to be primarily motivated by geopolitical calculations. This paper argues that China's increasing presence in the Pacific Islands indeed helps China create a "sphere of influence," but such geopolitical dynamics are characterized not merely by China's response to its perceived containment imposed by the USA and its allies in the region, but also by China's willingness to engage with PICs on its own terms. This is reflected in China's multifaceted approaches to offering economic assistance and expanding its economic and political presence in the region. China has increasingly cemented its strategic partnership with PICs by pursuing its traditional strategy of "non-interference" that satisfies PICs' demands for political independence and self-determination. China reaps not only economic but also geopolitical benefits from its intensified economic, and by extension, political, and strategic partnership with PICs, thus assisting its rise at the systemic (global) level. This paper examines the rationale behind China's economic and political approaches to the region and evaluates its promises and pitfalls as regional power dynamics continues to evolve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is no secret that EU member states cannot come to terms on a unified China-policy. Most studies on EU-China relations come to the conclusion that disagreement exists and that this fragmentation is utilized by Chinese foreign policy in a kind of divide and rule strategy. However, the question as to why the EU members disagree has not been answered satisfactorily. This paper investigates the reasons for this discord from the perspective of the core-periphery theory. We illustrate how the spatial position of nations within Europe–in a geographical and political sense–shapes their outlook on China. As a case study to illustrate the differences in the outlook on China of among EU member countries, we analyse the discourses on Chinese COVID-19 vaccines in the Hungarian and German press from April 2020 until summer 2021. We argue that these differences have their grounds in the spatial-relational positioning at either the core or the semi-periphery of the EU. Based on our findings we suggest that a sustainable EU China-policy has first to address these differences in foreign policy outlook and then find a common ground. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sino-U.S. relations tumbled during the Trump Administration. The talk of decoupling permeated the decision-making circle in Washington D.C. Many factors have contributed to the free fall. The roles Congress has played are undoubtedly one of them. Based on the new institutionalist approach, this study provides three analyses of recent China-related legislative activities. First, the historical analysis of legislative data illustrates a surge in congressional activism on China-related legislative activities. Second, the content analysis reveals some of the triggers in the deterioration of bilateral relations in recent years. Third, the political analysis of the critical congressional players and the structures and procedures Congress created provides some insight into the domestic and political logic of the congressional crusade against China. Finally, the paper ends with assessing the impact of the surge in Congressional activism on the new Biden Administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

2004 was the year when the Japanese public's affinity with China dropped dramatically, to 37.6 %, due to anti-Japan riots in China. Now more than 70 % of the Japanese public does not feel an affinity with China. How could such a strong anti-Chinese sentiment influence Japan's policy toward China? This paper considers this question by examining Japan's decision-making process on terminating the much-criticized yen loans to China. Yen loans are a type of Official Development Assistance (ODA) provided by the Japanese government to countries lacking sufficient funds for economic development. China is one of the top yen loan borrowers, and the loans have contributed to China's economic growth and increasing openness. However, in March 2005, Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura told Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing that Japan intended to phase out the yen loans before the 2008 Beijing Olympics and reached an agreement on the matter. Two-and-a-half years later, Japan terminated its yen loans to China, as the foreign ministers had agreed. Through mainly firsthand documents and interviews with government officials, this paper will clarify the following two points: (1) While it is true that the Japanese government significantly reduced its yen loan package to China from 2001 onward due to domestic criticism of China, as pointed out by previous studies, it was not planning to terminate the yen loans as of summer 2004. Instead, the Japanese government was contemplating how to keep providing yen loans to China; (2) Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura, who was appointed in September 2004, had pushed for the termination of yen loans to China only after anti-Chinese sentiment rose dramatically in summer 2004, because he felt that continuing the much-criticized yen loans would not benefit stable Japan-China relations. This paper sheds light on the background of the termination of yen loans to China, a major milestone in postwar Japan-China relations that had been unclear until now. Having said this, the more important point of this paper may be that it also shows the influence of strong anti-Chinese sentiment on Japan's policies toward China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper revisits some methodological issues regarding the application of 'normative power Europe' (NPE) as an analytical tool. It looks at the descriptive, interpretive and prescriptive aspects of NPE and identifies ontological and epistemological problems, further normative theorising and the empirical (ir)relevance within the case of China. Central to this paper is the emphasis on how to critically apply the NPE approach to a cross-cultural context in which universalist versus relativist paradigm, interpretivist versus positivist approaches and different ethical judgments can be combined and bridged. This paper argues that NPE helps us understand the EU's identity creation which can be translated in matching policy terms, either by design or default. Despite its descriptive credibility, the explanatory power of NPE has been limited not just by differences concerning fundamental values, but the need to engage China on normative issues through cooperation and dialogue, a form of normative action itself. The prescriptive value of NPE, nevertheless, should be promoted in both academic and policy debates by strengthening the clarity and consistency of how the EU conveys this self-perception to the others. Finally, the paper concludes that applying the NPE approach empirical research requires theory refinement and operationalisation of the concept uniquely tailored to the chosen empirical cases. As far as China is concerned, detailed case-by-case analyses within a longitudinal time frame-which allows sufficient space for investigators to develop depth in inter-paradigm and inter-disciplinary research-would be useful in highlighting the strength of the NPE approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International collaborative training programs for graduate students are widespread, but studies on their educational impact are limited. As an advanced cancer institute in China, Cancer Hospital Chinese Academy of Medical Science (CHCAMS) attaches great importance to international exchanges and cooperation within graduate education. The Department of Epidemiology of CHCAMS has been involved in several existing international training programs and has also launched a short-term training program in cooperation with foreign universities and institutes from 2008. Fogarty International Clinical Research Scholars and Fellows (FICRS-F) Program and the Fulbright-Fogarty Fellowship Program are the most typical examples of our practice in international cooperation on graduate education over these years. Our department has gained substantial experience in graduate-level international collaborative training, focused on cancer epidemiology. This paper is a brief introduction to the practice of different programs in our department and students' achievements during and after training. Moreover, we attempt to serve as a reference and help promote the training of graduate students pursuing careers in cancer research or global health by other universities or research institutes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines whether the pacifying effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on territorial disputes between adversarial dyads is conditional upon the dyads' past experience of military cooperation. I built a political economy model and conducted a logistic regression analysis on the newly coded bilateral FDI data between adversarial dyads and the existing dataset by merging the rivalry data established by Thompson [51] and the territorial disputes data collected by Lee and Mitchell [42]. I found that when bilateral FDI flows between adversarial dyads reach a certain level the pacifying effect of FDI is stronger for adversarial dyads with past military cooperation. I also found that while past military cooperation has a pacifying effect in general, past military cooperation that occurred more recently has a stronger pacifying effect than those that occurred a while ago. Moreover, based upon the theoretical model and empirical findings in this paper, I investigated the political implications for Tsai Ing-wen's "New Southbound Policy" and Taiwan's approach to the territorial dispute issues in the South China Sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing importance of the EU, China and the strategic partnership of these two in international politics, scholars and politicians have increased their interest in learning how the EU has been represented and viewed in China. Understanding Chinese perceptions of the EU contributes to better mutual understanding and is important for further developing a positive bilateral relationship. From 2005, when the first scientific study on this topic was conducted; to 2017, over a dozen projects, many fully or partly funded by the European Commission, have been undertaken by European and Chinese scholars. This paper reviews the state of play in the research on how the Chinese media represent and how China perceives the EU. It compares and synthesises the studies and their findings. It argues that the studies and projects have made important scholarly contributions to academic debate and been helpful in providing policy recommendations. However, although their findings do not contradict one another, they are not consistent either. It makes the comparison to track perceptual changes difficult. A methodological reflection on perception studies is discussed, closing with recommendations for future research areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Narratives about the challenges of China's growing involvement with Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) for the region and the EU are exponentially proliferating and have already effectively monopolized the understanding of this relationship among scholars, analysts, media, and policy-makers in the Western European capitals. The Western Balkans, as a sub-region of CEE, are thought of as particularly prone to Chinese influence—the countries in this geographical area are not EU members nor are fully integrated in the EU's policy and legislative frameworks and initiatives yet are interested in maximizing the economic benefits of their relationship with China. By strategically developing ties with the Western Balkans, China is understood to have, or is well on the way to achieve, profound impact in this region. This paper focuses on three policy areas perceived to be both the most important channels and the clearest expressions of China's influence in the Western Balkans—foreign policy, physical infrastructure and connectivity, and investment. Using the notion of the structural power for its analytical framework, this study finds that while the attention has been on China's growing presence in the region, the extent to which the EU has since moved to re-assert its leadership in the Balkans has gone under the radar. The paper concludes that in recent years Brussels has reformulated its agenda so as to bind the Balkan states to its own policies and objectives, constraining their ability to independently shape their relationship with Beijing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Studies focusing on China and Russia, whose relationship is of key importance to the configuration of the international system, have been evolving dynamically in various disciplines. We analyze the evolution of this research by focusing on the fields of International Relations and Area Studies. This novel bibliometric study employs Biblioshiny, AntConc, and VOSviewer to analyze 947 publications collected from the Web of Science Core Collection, focusing specifically on 266 publications in International Relations and Area Studies. While mapping research on China and Russia over the last three decades (1990–2019), we identify the main trends regarding the annual distribution of papers, document types, dominant journals, collaboration networks between countries, and the most productive authors. We also establish prevailing research themes resulting from keyword analysis and their respective growth over time, as well as the density of the most frequently used terms and methods employed in the selected research fields. Finally, we identify fruitful avenues for further research, while also demonstrating how the bibliometric approach can inform and direct developments on China and Russia studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese foreign policy has multiple sources, and the incentives that are driving its behaviour have grown from the domestic/international, as well as from regional, economic, normative, multilateral, and cultural levels. Foreign policy-making in China is becoming increasingly complex and sophisticated. This special issue is drawn from some edited papers presented in the joint workshop between Fudan and Durham Universities on Chinese foreign policy on 29-30 March 2010. By assessing the economic, domestic, regional, global and cultural sources of Chinese foreign policy, we aim to illustrate the various sources and to locate possible ways to consolidate the transitional process, and to spur future endeavour facing China's foreign policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper links China's pattern of infrastructure lending to Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) with China's own development experience in this regard. It raises the question whether Chinese infrastructure investments in LAC have the potential to promote sustainable development in the region. The paper consists of four parts. Part 1 outlines China's massive domestic infrastructure construction projects as a specific development strategy which has contributed considerably to the country's rapid internal development, but has simultaneously given rise to complex dynamics of social and environmental risk. Part 2 assesses the strategies involved in China's infrastructure investment in LAC. Part 3 identifies key actors involved in China-LAC infrastructure cooperation and how they relate to different ways of financing infrastructure projects. Part 4 focuses on policy guidelines for managing the social and environmental risks of infrastructure projects. The paper concludes that more research, more capacity-building, and new forms of multinational development cooperation are needed to strengthen the social and environmental policies associated with China's infrastructure investment in LAC countries, to help uphold existing social and environmental standards, and to extend project benefits more effectively to local communities and people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pushed by structural transformations of geopolitics and world economy, China had to adjust its policy toward the European Union (EU) continuously during the period of 2014–2019, in pace with the dramatic changes in the European political landscape and the European Union's policy orientations. During this process, the role of Chinese foreign policy think tanks has become more prominent and complex. This article conducts a comparative case study of the central-level China Institute of International Studies (CIIS) and the provincial-level Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS), analyzing mechanisms of their influence over China's EU policy. Based on a theoretical paradigm that interprets think tanks as the "central space" in a "field of power," this article establishes an analytical framework regarding the policy influence of CIIS and SIIS as being determined by their differentiated positions within China's foreign policy-making structure. It compares the flows of CIIS and SIIS publications on EU policy issues and the issuing of EU policy documents by the Chinese government, with a particular focus on the economic dimension of the relationship. It reveals patterns of synchronization and succession between think tank advice and official policy endorsements. Also, it analyzes the structural characteristics of meetings on EU policy sponsored by CIIS and SIIS, disclosing their varied connections with central and provincial policymakers, as well as other political actors. Generally speaking, the CIIS is in a more advantageous position than the SIIS. The findings also confirm the trend of a new round of centralization in China's policy process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses Greece's relations with China and highlights the crucial role of specific business interests in strengthening bilateral ties. Greek-Chinese political contacts, as well as trade, investment and touristic flows, have significantly increased in the last decade. The concession of the Piraeus port to the Chinese company COSCO was the major turning point for the relationship. The paper notes a strong influence of shipowning interests in Greece's foreign policy decision-making system which has conditioned the development of Greek-Chinese relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2018, 43 leading International Relations scholars in the United States signed a public statement in support of an urgent call to preserve the current international order, triggering heated scholarly debates. The idealized form of the liberal international order was criticized by many scholars for its chronic problems, including the contradictions between proclaimed liberal values and illiberal behaviors, the inability to reform its institutional pillars to accommodate the diverse group of emerging powers, and the tensions between the defenders of this order and its challengers. These problems became fully exposed under the external shock caused by the coronavirus pandemic. As the coronavirus spreads globally and disrupts the world's political, economic, and social fabric, several forces that have gained momentum and strength during the last decade are now converging as a formidable force that may reconfigure the post-pandemic international order. This paper addresses three significant challenges to the foundations of the current liberal order: (1) the entrenchment of authoritarianism, characterized by authoritarian resilience, autocratization, and the consolidation of competing authoritarian political-economic models; (2) the exacerbation of nationalism enabled by nationalist and populist politicians; and (3) the intensified competition among major powers. China has played mixed roles in the process of reconfiguring the current order. It challenges the mythologized liberal international order and exposes the contradictions in the dominant Western model, while promoting an alternative hybrid political-economic model. The shock brought by the pandemic has provided ample opportunities for China to extend its networks and expand international space for its model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper sets up a framework for analyzing the policies of the US and the People's Republic of China toward the Republic of China(Taiwan). It surveys how the two powers' policies have evolved during the period 1949-2009 and makes numerical evaluations of the degree of "supportiveness" of American policy toward the ROC and the degree of "aggressiveness" of the PRC's policies. The evaluations are charted. The paper observes that the US and the PRC have been engaged in a kind of "negotiation-by-move-and-countermove" over this period. This form of interaction is found to be slow-motion and not very effective for resolving differences between the two sides. However, the need for a formal resolution of the island's political-legal status becomes less important as the trade, investment, and people-to-people linkages between the two Chinese entities increase. There appears to be a huge potential for an ever-greater convergence of the two powers' economic desires for Taiwan even while the issue of their respective stances towards its legal-political-military status may not be resolved for quite a while. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we attempt to analyze the China-Russia cooperation within the context of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). For this end, the prospects for and challenges toward the alignment of the two countries' Eurasia strategies and the impact of such cooperation on the economics, politics, and security of the region and beyond are examined. Exploring the two nations' actual and potential points of convergence and divergence, we maintain that China-Russia strategic partnership stands at the center of the BRI's expansion in Eurasia. Economically, the cooperation aims to boost development in the region by spurring infrastructure, connectivity, and innovation. Politically, it seeks to create a more institutionalized and harmonious regional existence via an economy-driven approach to security to address such threats as extremism, separatism, and terrorism. Therefore, in the long run, we argue that the China-Russia cooperation on the BRI is poised to remake the Eurasian geoeconomic and geopolitical landscape with major implications for regional and global politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking pride in the vibrancy and transparency of democracy, countries such as the USA have prioritized the spread of democracy in its foreign policy. The admirable impact that this political agenda has garnered across the globe pushes us to ponder what China would offer as it aspires for a more prominent position on the international stage. Particularly, how would China foster its image in Asia and, as a result, earn a favorable voice and even all-out support from Asian countries, countries economically underdeveloped and politically volatile? This paper sets out to answer this question by critiquing whether or not popular perceptions of China's political system impact how Asians perceive China's influence in general. Conducting statistical analysis using the fourth wave of Asian Barometer Survey (2016) to assess the above argument, we find that Asians who lend their support for China are more keen to the economic opportunities that China's growing economy offers their country than they are of China's political system. In short, China's authoritarian regime type does not factor into Asians' perception of China, except when individuals are highly educated with and committed to democratic principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union (EU)'s trade strategy has changed since 2015 with the re-introduction of human rights and the EU's refusal to grant China Market Economy Status. The questions under investigation here are what were the drivers of EU-China trade before the strategic turn and what consequences could the new EU strategy bring about in the relationship. The paper will draw from 16 interviews with think tanks and policy makers carried out in Beijing and Brussels in 2015 to uncover the Chinese perceptions of the EU and its diplomats as well as the preferences that have so far pushed China to make the EU one of its first trade partners. This work concludes that in order for the EU-China trade relationship to keep functioning, the new EU strategy towards China needs to keep human rights as an issue separated from trade, needs to boost knowledge and legislation transfers on sensitive issues like food safety and environmental management and finally needs to keep the 'European way' of dealing with trade frictions and disputes with China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay examines and evaluates China's global rise and the state of the transatlantic discussions about this issue. Since 2010, the rise of China has been accompanied by multiple Chinese initiatives on the international front, especially in the fields of trade and investment. Chinese overseas direct investments are on the rise at a global level. The creation of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, of the Silk Road Fund, and of the 'Belt and Road' initiative are signs of a much more assertive China that is now engaging Western countries, including Europe and the USA. Western reactions, both at governmental and grass-root levels have been mixed. Two questions emerge: can Europeans agree on a common policy toward China? And can the USA and the European Union pursue a dialog and a more coordinated strategy? This will be especially relevant in the context of President Donald Trump's administration as well as newly elected governments in France and Germany following general elections in these countries in 2017. The future of a transatlantic dialog should also encompass the British question when the UK leaves the EU. As the USA and leading European countries map their foreign policy strategies in coming years, there is a need to elevate policy coordination toward China in the hierarchy of political and economic goals. The paper offers some suggestions on possible priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study provides an overview of the development of contemporary China studies in Singapore from the regional Cold War to the present. It argues that the waxing and waning of China studies in Singapore were intertwined with state interests at different points in time, defined in accordance with the state's self-professed 'pragmatism'. In particular, this paper suggests that the state's ostensible aversion to communist China during the regional Cold War, the decline of the Chinese language under its bilingual policy, and the state's active courting of China from the 1990s have profound and lasting influence on the state of China studies in Singapore. All in all, in the context of a rising China and the state's 'pragmatic' responses, it is likely that China studies in Singapore shall continue to gravitate toward policy research for many years to come. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the Chinese policy community's interpretations of identities, which potentially shape the soft power policies of China. It couples soft power to identity through a discourse analysis of the language used by the Chinese state in relation to soft power. It builds on a number of earlier theorizations that associate soft power with identity as a discursive phenomenon. The results highlight the use of strategic disrespect in China's soft power discourse. In the context of global cultural competition, and in particular the South-South cooperation framework, it is argued that the practitioners of the Chinese discourse present China's 'Self' as a soft power and the Western 'Other' as a hard power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Latin America is a critical region for analyzing China's economic statecraft. Following the Monroe doctrine, Latin America has long been seen as part of the sphere of U.S. influence. For the purpose of studying the effectiveness of China's economic statecraft I will focus on two countries that stand on opposite extremes: Brazil and Mexico. Both countries happened to be important target states (strategic partners) of China's economic statecraft in the region, albeit for different political and strategic goals. In this paper I will compare the different domestic political and economic conditions, interests and institutions in these two countries to explain why China has made greater progress in projecting its economic power through trade and investment to pursue its political goals with Brazil, but has not succeeded in Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's new Silk Road policy, titled 'One Belt, One Road,' signals a proactive turn in China's regional policy towards Central and West Asia. The policy has two dimensions: First, China aims to revitalize the old Silk Road exchange of goods, ideas, and people with trade, energy, and transportation projects. Second, armed with these new connections, China aims to redefine the territories the old Silk Road encompasses as a region in the contemporary international system. Turkey, as one of the countries at the westernmost end of the historic Silk Road, and one of the target countries of China's new Silk Road diplomacy, welcomes the increasing economic and technological exchange with China. Establishing better contacts with China fits suitably in Turkey's new foreign policy orientation. While the foreign policies of the two countries seem to be compatible, Turkish domestic political dynamics and public opinion hinder further engagement between the two ends of the Silk Road. The negative public opinion towards China manifests itself in the form of media coverage, protests and lobbying and, at times, it derails bilateral relations. This paper assesses the prospects for bilateral relations in the light of these developments. The paper starts with a historical analysis of Sino-Turkish relations and proceeds with various dimensions of the current relations. Then, it provides an analysis of various public opinion surveys in order to grasp the nature of the Turkish public opinion towards China, and it offers a media framing analysis in order to decipher the specific ways the image of China is constructed in Turkish public opinion. The last part of the paper discusses the domestic political actors that have a role in the perceptions and policies toward China in Turkey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

National power has been an important discriminative signal for the evolution of great power competition and international patterns in recent years, not only in terms of the relative resource scale of the state but also in terms of the efficiency of resource use. Based on the two levels of national resources and conversion mechanisms, this article uses the entropy method to establish national power comprehensive assessment index systems covering 144 countries and 38 indicators from 1990–2020. At the same time, based on power transition theory (PTT), this article uses quadratic assignment procedures to verify the relevance and interpretation of international bilateral relations in the national power gap. The conclusion is that technology and economic elements are especially important for national power, and the conversion mechanism is icing on the cake rather than a decisive factor. The competition among great powers is transformed into nontraditional competition rather than an arms race; the international pattern has gradually developed from one superpower to a multipolar trend, and the global economic and geopolitical center has transitioned to Asia. The rise of China and the recession in the U.S. are factual; as the gap between the two countries' power narrows, their international relations become increasingly tense, confirming power transition theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"It was the rise of Athens and the fear that it instilled in Sparta that made war inevitable" as Thucydides famously stated. But are we destined to hear echoes of "Carthago delenda est" [Carthage must be destroyed] from Beijing and Washington across the Pacific? With the tension notably on the rise in the issue-specific domains of the Taiwan Strait, South China Sea, and the Korean Peninsula, there is cause to delve deeper into the contemporary 'Thucydides Trap', as expounded by Graham Allison. This paper will focus on the latest developments of the ongoing Korean Peninsula Nuclear Crisis, post Six-Party Talks, as an issue-specific domain to evaluate the changing power dynamic between an established and a rising power. Here the Thucydides Trap and the challenges presented by policy makers in both China and the USA make special reference to the danger of being plunged into a hegemonic conflict. This analysis covers two trajectories: 1) following the conservative approach - balance of power and conditions of hegemony; and 2) concerning a balance of hierarchies - in which the two hierarchies run parallel to each other. Due to China's rising power in both military and economic fields, it simultaneously presages the relative decline of American power projection. Allison also reconfirms that an established power, in this case the USA, is challenged by a rising power, personified by China, concludes that the likelihood of war has substantially increased. Despite the fact of their growing geopolitical rivalry, both acknowledge the calculus of falling into the trap and realize that a major conflict would devastate their geopolitical positions. Put more directly, finding the great escape from this trap remains the central issue in the contemporary world, raising the conceptionally challenging question as to whether Allison's theoretical construction is heuristically sound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses how the situation in China's most northwestern province-level unit Xinjiang has affected China's overall foreign relations since disturbances in its capital Ürümqi in July 2009. Xinjiang's most populous ethnic group is the mostly-Muslim Uighurs. The paper assumes a framework that puts a high priority on China's facing west. Though no more important than the eastward-looking foreign policy that has dominated Western analysis, the paper sees China's facing west perspective as deserving more attention than it has received. Russia and Central Asian countries have been positive about China's economic aims in the region. However, friction has increased with China's rise, Chinese authorities tending to blame Xinjiang's disturbances on Islamism in Central Asia. China resents the USA for giving asylum to Rebiya Kadeer, president of the anti-China World Uyghur Congress. In 2011, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pushed the idea of a 'New Silk Road' in Central Asia for peaceful economic development. China has long espoused the 'Silk Road' idea, developing its own 'Silk Road Economic Belt.' Damaged due to the 2009 riots, the China-Turkey relationship has improved because of various visits and agreements since 2010. The paper balances the dominantly economic Silk Road concept against Islamist terrorism. It argues that the aims of the Silk Road and Silk Road Economic Belt are sensible and practical, with positive economic relations the main trend. However, although the Central Asian 'zone of conflict' is a lesser trend, tensions are serious and long term, especially those caused by Islamism and Islamist terrorism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to present a framework for understanding the impact of China's rise on the established international order with a special focus on the contradictions and dilemmas facing both China and the order around it. It suggests heuristic insights from two Chinese cultural and linguistic metaphysics in order to denote the dynamic and interactive relationship between the rise of China and the existing order in terms of both opportunities and challenges. The authors argue that both China and the existing order have been going through periods of 'sleeping in the same bed with different dreams', and now they are in the stage of 'riding tiger' in which both sides face dilemmas in their complicated and complex relationship. The paper concludes that the rise of China and the existing order will continue to be intertwined in a dialectic of waxing and waning, and flux and reflux. In order for each to find a regional and global role which the other will accept and support both sides will have to go through a considerable period of struggle, tension and adjustment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the likelihood of China’s legitimation as the global hegemon during an era of relative U.S. decline. Using Rapkin’s ( 1990 ) legitimacy deficit framework, the author tests China’s prospects for international legitimacy through the analysis of Chinese leadership at the United Nations (UN). While China’s recent exponential increase in contributions to UN peacekeeping and the UN regular budget signal growing Chinese global leadership, their consistent focus on regional interests, as displayed in UN Security Council and UN General Assembly debate and discussion, indicates the absence of an internationally supported agenda. In concluding, this paper asserts that recent Chinese legitimation efforts through UN leadership have been stonewalled by an inability to provide an international agenda with globally held values and beliefs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper seeks to enrich the discussion of China's power by critically engaging with existing literature on the topic, presenting a conceptual analysis of power, and suggesting a framework for future research. Firstly, it is shown that only a few scholarly publications approach China's power in a more comprehensive and conceptually rigorous way, and even these still contain spaces for improvement. It is argued that the main fault of the existing literature on China's power is confusion surrounding the concept of power. For this reason, secondly, the article presents a conceptual analysis of power and it puts forward a comprehensive framework suitable for analytical use in international relations. In this place, the article argues that an exhaustive assessment of state power should contain an analysis of state's intentions, its sources of power on (at least) three analytical levels, and outcomes of interactions. Thirdly, an analysis of Chinese policies in the South China Sea is offered as an example of applying the framework to a concrete issue. Finally, the article identifies further directions for researching China's power and foreign policy using the presented model of power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the projection and reception of strategic narratives in the realm of Chinese nationalism and the impact of contemporary official nationalist discourse on Beijing?s foreign policy making. Within the analytic framework of political symbolism,the paper dissects the divergent national identities reflective in different semantic and syntactic relationships inherent in the state?crafted historical narratives in contemporary China. In the post?Tiananmen era, the signification of the traumatic symbol of national humiliation in modern Chinese history,projected in the form of strategic narratives by the Party?state in patriotic education,has given rise to a societal force that threatens to internalize the historical conflicts on the foreign relations front. The counter?effect of strategic narratives, which has constrained the rationality of the state?s foreign policy making,implies that collective memory is not an on?demand resource for the authoritarian regime to exploit to enhance its legitimacy. The relationship between the Chinese state and society as the constructor and consumer of communicative nationalism cannot be simplistically dichotomized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the author discusses various reports within the issue on the topic of Chinese traditions in foreign relations.

There are different driving forces behind Chinese foreign policy decision-making. Norms, principles, and interests and the subtle combinations of them, I argue in this paper, are the major driving forces on the input side, while the domestic situation of a specific country and international pressure undercut China's policy deliberations. By contrast, the form of government of a specific country under discussion is not an important variable. In this paper, I use China's policy toward Myanmar as a case study. The findings prove that the integration of norms, principle and practical interests has formed the powerful impetus that drives China's policies toward Myanmar. Among these factors, the interests China has identified in general and stability on its 'doorstep' in particular play a dominant role, while the norm of human security and the principle of non-interference are embedded in its policy deliberations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines China's role in the Six-Party Talks, a multilateral initiative with the aim of denuclearising North Korea. As North Korea's behaviour has become increasingly provocative, evidenced by the Cheonan and Yeonpyeong Incidents and the newly unveiled uranium enrichment plant at Yeonbyon, China's indecision in dealing with the deteriorating situation has dramatically undermined Beijing's ability to continue successfully to play the leading mediator role. Yet if China fails to take decisive action now, the consequences could be dire. Further deterioration in North Korea's behaviour could trigger a nuclear arms race, severely hamper regional economic development and even create a geopolitical split in East Asia, leading to a confrontation between the US, South Korea and Japan acting together on one side, and China, Russia and North Korea aligned on the other. The factors that have prevented China from making further progress in the diplomatic process are many and various and this paper will reveal the complexity of the North Korean issue for China. Foreign academics and policy makers have tended to attribute China's indecision over North Korea to China putting its own security interests first. But this is far too simplistic a picture of the complex relationship that China has with North Korea. There are a host of factors at work that need to be taken into account to understand the present impasse in the diplomatic process. These factors include China's emotional ties to North Korea and empathy with its position as the weakest party in the Talks, the conflicting attitudes within the Chinese government itself towards the North, and the competing interests and lack of trust between the different stakeholders. It seems that for the foreseeable future, the North Korean issue will continue to plague Chinese foreign policy until all the parties involved act as a collaborative body to reach a consensus on how to resolve the situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Taiwan Strait has often been referred to as one of the world's most dangerous hotspots and many dire predictions have been made about a military conflict between mainland China and Taiwan, likely involving the United States. Yet, despite several crises in the Taiwan Strait and numerous war speculations, there has been no major armed conflict between Beijing and Taipei since the 1950s. How do we explain the puzzle that an expected war across the Taiwan Strait did not happen after all? This paper first examines the explanations based on military balance of power. Having found the realist/rationalist explanations less convincing, however, this study explores the explanatory power of the 'ethnicity' factor. It suggests that when the Chinese society is no longer divided by ideological differences, the 'ethnicity' may provide a more convincing explanation of why a military conflict has not happened in the Taiwan Strait in the past four decades. This paper also considers several counterarguments, including the neo-liberal argument of economic integration as a driving force for peace in the age of globalization. The paper concludes with a discussion of some policy implications resulting from the 'ethnic peace' thesis and proposes that when actively promoted by the both sides, the Chinese ethnic identity is likely to be the most important strategic guarantee of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait for many years to come. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does the rise of China present a threat or an opportunity for Southeast Asia? One of the most revealing arenas in which this will be determined will be within the context of regional institution-building. For a region that is perennially associated with under-institutionalisation it is remarkable just how many initiatives have been proposed recently. Such institutions, may be important venues within which 'asymmetric regionalism' may be manifest and perhaps managed. The paper provides an assessment of this process through an analysis of China's relationship with Southeast Asia. The paper initially provides a brief theoretical introduction which explains the relationship between regional development and its possible impact on inter-state relations. Following this I provide an analysis of the political economic and strategic dynamics that are shaping and being shaped by regional initiatives. Finally, I assess how successful ASEAN's efforts have been to engage China via regional mechanisms has actually been. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against the conventional wisdom that Chinese involvement cannot transform Africa’s economy for the better so as to end much of the poverty and also to spark high speed growth, this paper finds that China is already in the process of transforming Africa. While the conventional wisdom sees corrupt regimes and weak state capacity in Africa frittering away Africa’s opportunity to rise by plugging into Chinese dynamism, China is found in this paper already to be exporting entrepreneurial talent to Africa and to be dynamizing the African economy through East Asian practices. Chinese can bring industry to Africa much as Japan brought it to Southeast Asia in the 1960s and 1970s. Africa could therefore be incorporated into Asian economic dynamism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper has explored the image of China portrayed in the New York Times from 1949 through 1988. The study has shown that the image of China has changed in accordance with the changes in the U.S. foreign policy toward China over the past forty years. The changes were discussed in the historical context of Sino-U.S. relations. In addition, this paper has explored some methodological issues relating to Q-analysis. This methodology, different from Q-sort technique, is proven particularly powerful in this study for describing semantical structures in a cluster of news stories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollutants allegedly originating from China have become a thorny issue in South Korea. Despite a neutral view of the topic on the part of the South Korean government, recent public polls show a high correlation between the air pollution issue and negative sentiment toward China. How has the media reported on China regarding air pollutants in South Korea? What is the effect of media reports on air pollution on anti-Chinese sentiment and foreign policy attitudes? By examining news headlines and Twitter data in 2015 and 2018, this work finds that media reports blaming China for air pollution doubled during the 2015–2018 period. Discourse surrounding air pollution also shifted: negative sentiment directed at both the Chinese government and the Chinese people increased in 2018 compared to 2015. In addition, an original online survey experiment shows that China-blaming articles have a causal effect on increasing related resentment, particularly toward Chinese people, and that this effect is moderated by age group. Such articles have also had negative effects on foreign policy attitudes via increased anti-Chinese sentiment; greater hostility toward the Chinese people is found to have a causal effect on reduced support for strengthening relations with their country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iran-China relations have strengthened over the past decades. From an economic point of view, Iran has been an attractive destination for the Chinese businesses that are in search of new markets to expand the scope of their economic activities through trade, investment, and partnership. China has at the same time offered Iran a valuable alternative to the western economies, which gradually (and partly due to the economic sanctions imposed on Iran) decreased their level of engagement with Iran. Moreover, the relationships between China and Iran have expanded gradually to military and security cooperation. This paper will examine the development of various aspects of Sino-Iranian relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese foreign policy is still an undertheorized domain of international relations studies. One puzzle that preoccupies international observers is the impact of leadership changes on Chinese foreign behavior. Based on an in-depth reading of official statements made by China's new political leaders and their first actions in office this paper analyses continuity and change in China's foreign strategy. Following a combined multidimensional analytical approach the evaluation focuses on the interrelation between indigenous (leadership changes, subsystemic challenges) and exogenous factors (global crises, critical junctures) on the modeling of China's international strategy. My main conclusion is that shifts and role changes in Chinese foreign policy should not be misread as the outcome of the latest leadership transition. Most 'changes' that are now associated with the fifth generation have originally been introduced by their political ancestors. As a context-sensitive, historical-reflectivist analysis shows, China's 'new' approach to world affairs stands for a continuing, incremental adaptation of the PRC to socio-economic evolutions on the domestic and the global level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's embrace of a comprehensive and aggressive economic statecraft as part of its grand strategy indicates a paradigm change in its foreign policy. This change has captured scholarly attention – a growing body of research on China's economic statecraft has emerged in recent years. This special topic presents a fresh selection of four research essays examining China's economic statecraft practiced in a wide range of countries and regions in the world, including Latin America, Africa, Europe, Canada, and New Zealand. Collectively, these essays explore two important questions: (1) How successful has China's economic statecraft been? (2) How do domestic variables (e.g., domestic politics, political institutions, interests, and public opinion) of the target states (in which China practices economic statecraft) affect the outcome of the Chinese strategies? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]