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Australia's new government is committed to delivering the next defence white paper in 2015. The two previous white papers took a predominantly risk-management approach to Southeast Asia, generally ignored the strategic opportunities in the region, treated it as a stand-alone region largely unrelated to developments in East Asia and failed to link Australia's policies in Southeast Asia with the broader goal of helping to ensure greater strategic stability in Asia by putting constraints on Chinese assertiveness and encouraging its peaceful rise. After offering a summary of recent Australian defence thinking on Southeast Asia, this paper outlines why managing China is the key variable when it comes to strategic stability in the region. It then examines how China's strategy and behaviour can be shaped and influenced by events and relationships in Southeast Asia, and offers some suggestions as to the role Australia can seek to play in Southeast Asia that relates to Canberra's China-focused objectives and strategic stability in Asia more broadly If that can be achieved in the 2015 defence white paper, Australia - which is often criticized for being preoccupied primarily with managing the relationship with its superpower ally the United States - will demonstrate to itself and Asia that its heavy reliance on the ANZUS treaty is no barrier to strategic creativity in Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colonial and postcolonial relations have always constituted sites of knowledge production in the Global South. This is particularly noticeable when it comes to the production of knowledge of a Global South self vis-à-vis the West. However, the literature has not seriously attended self-knowledge production in the Global South with regard to non-Western others. The paper compares South and Southeast Asian think tanks to reflect upon a common identity strategy of small nations to become a civilizational bridge between competing major neighbours. Specifically, China experts in these areas host more or less a common wish or even a desire to be a bridge over the difference of China and its potential rival in India, the West, or both. The bridge role is a rare sensibility in the postcolonial critique of the West. Watching China from its Southern Third World neighbourhood incurs such an agenda. Relying on interviews of retired diplomats and think tank experts, the paper also discusses how the above mentioned methodological characteristics affect the enactment of the bridge role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's need to ensure food sufficiency for its people is nothing new. What is new is the country's recent active search for food from around the world, including small states in Africa and Latin America. The country has begun to acquire food of a high quality, in competition with other countries. China can make use of its politico-economic power to influence the behaviour of others to achieve food security, thereby highlighting a puzzling question: How does China balance its national interests against its global responsibility? China competes with other countries for a steady supply of food at an affordable price, while at the same time it wants to be seen as a peaceful country and a responsible member of the international community. As the largest developing country in the world, how does China see its role in the global management of food security, and how do others see China in this role? In addressing these questions, this paper argues that China begins to shoulder greater responsibility globally in this area, based on its bilateral and multilateral engagements, especially with small states, in a win-win way. The paper concludes that China has to do more to allay the fears of the outside world and to clear the suspicions harboured by others about its intentions and behaviour, a lesson which carries wide implications for China's global governance in other issue areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Australian Journal of International Affairs is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

One of the recent major debates among scholars in international relations has been the issue of the "China threat." In an attempt to shed new light on this discussion, this paper raises a question different from the questions commonly asked thus far: What does the Chinese public think? To understand how the Chinese public perceives China's security environment and the rise of China, this paper utilizes the results of a recent survey conducted in China. The findings of this paper provide sources both for relief and concern. The Chinese public holds a relatively benign view on China's security environment and the United States. It understands the world as more power-balanced than U.S.-centric and shows no evident sign of hostility toward the existing world order. However, the Chinese public's heightened optimism and strong confidence in China's national power betray worrisome signs of selfoverestimation and preference for China's aggressive intervention in world affairs. Considering that the CCP is increasingly relying on nationalism as an alternative source of legitimacy, what is particularly alarming is the potential for the public's nationalistic sentiments that could push the Chinese government to react aggressively to international security issues, such as crises on the Korean peninsula. The Chinese public's security perceptions analyzed in this paper suggest that the "China threat" might be an exaggeration at this point but there are disturbing signs that confirm the need for caution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is being characterized as the sleeping dragon that has been awakened and is starting on its quest on world domination. The rise of China and strengthening of its economic power and military prowess are seen to be a result of this awakening. Given the burgeoning role of China in the global arena, understanding its foreign policy is integral in predicting and observing how it operates and propels itself to be a global power. This paper will be two-pronged in analysis as it will first [1] focus on President Xi Jinping’s Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, which are: mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non- interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence; and [2] see how the principle of five elements (wood, water, fire, metal, and earth) is represented and employed within these policies. Each principle will be dissected using the Yin-Yang school of thought as apparatus, since understanding that these are premised on Chinese philosophical thought will deepen the overall understanding of the said policies. The Yin-Yang school of thought will be employed through determining which of the five principles in the foreign policy represent and correspond to the five elements. In this identification of the five elements in the principles, there will also be a synthesis of how the policy can be seen as a whole and as parts, that will contribute to the overall understanding of how China makes sense of being a global power in the 21st century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "Beijing Consensus" (BC) as a concept has been utilised to distinguish China's economic development experience from the "Washington Consensus" (WC), the policy toolkit offered to developing countries by Washington-based international organisations. This paper posits that recent Chinese initiatives in the international political economy constitute the building blocks of an emerging BC with potential to significantly influence developing countries' economic development trajectories. In order to have a better understanding of the emerging BC and its relation with China's economic development experience, the main elements of the Chinese economic development experience are compared to the WC and Post- WC (PWC), and an early critical analysis of the BC is provided. This analysis illustrates that China does not try to export its economic development model to other countries; the BC has similar and distinguishing features compared to the WC and PWC; and while the BC offers some opportunities to developing countries, it also involves some contradictions and challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Estudios Internacionales is the property of Instituto de Estudios Internacionales de la Universidad de Chile and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The EU calls itself a “soft power,” making “soft power” contributions to Asian security. That is undoubtedly what the EU is and does in Asia and the track record of European contributions to Asian peace and stability through economic and financial as well as development aid and technical assistance over the decades is not unimpressive. As will be shown below, over recent years Brussels and the Union's individual member states have sought to increase their involvement and role in Asian “hard security,” attempting to get rid of its reputation of being security a “free-rider” enjoying but not sharing the burden of US regional security guarantees. While the EU will continue to be a “hard security” actor in Asian security within limits, it is advised to concentrate its security cooperation with like-minded partners such as Japan and the US as opposed to hoping that talking to Beijing on regional or global security issues produces tangible results. As will be shown below, it clearly does not as Beijing continues to conduct very assertive and at times aggressive regional foreign and security policies insisting on the “principle of non-interference” in Chinese domestic and foreign policies. Consequently, EU influence on Chinese foreign and security policies in general and its increasingly aggressive policies related to territorial claims in the East China and South China Seas will continue to exist on paper and paper only. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The PLA's role in Beijing's foreign policy-making process is a closed book but it is a key research topic in our study of Chinese diplomacy. This paper argues that generally the PLA abides by a fine division of labor with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) in managing Beijing's international pursuits. The civilians are in charge of China's generic foreign affairs and daily diplomacy. The Central Military Commission (CMC) is responsible for security/military-related foreign affairs and defines the bottom-line for employing force in conflicts. Institutionally the PLA's role is more directional than detailed and is often behind the scenes. This complicates our research of the subject matter, as the line between this division of labor is thin over many diplomatic issues. Often times it is hard to demarcate where Beijing's normal diplomacy ends and where security/military dynamics begin. This paper adopts a two-layered analysis on civil–military interaction on foreign and security affairs: the broad consensus of CCP–PLA leaders on CCP regime stability at a time of drastic domestic change and world pressure; and the PLA's directional role in China's security/military-related foreign affairs under a generic civilian guidance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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 analyses the changes in the Chinese Communist Party's doctrine, by stressing the main findings of the 18th Congress of the Party held between the 7th and 14th of November, 2012. It is an attempt to explore the fundamentals of China's unique and genuine model of development and the Chinese liberal-type vision concentrated in concepts such as "harmonious society", "peaceful development", "social justice and equity" and "ethical governance". Also, the Paper stresses the current challenges to China's national sovereignty, based on its relations with Japan, North Korea, and on the evolutions of the unsolved dossier of Taiwan. Concerning China's foreign policy agenda in the years ahead, Beijing will be charged with the task of balancing its traditionally low foreign policy profile with its increasing assertive day-to-day actual foreign policy behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vying for high-speed railway projects overseas has become a prominent feature of China's diplomacy in recent years, including in Southeast Asia. These efforts have been widely depicted within the premises of the China Threat narrative – as a part of Beijing's agenda to alter the power balance in Southeast Asia at the expense of the economic, political, and security well-being of countries in the region. This paper challenges such interpretations and concludes that these projects do not have either the intention or capacity to facilitate such a hostile and far-reaching agenda toward the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are claims that China's influence on ASEAN is direct in that she has encouraged more exports to flow into her huge markets and changed trade flows amongst member countries. Demand and supply are deemed to have therefore become more China-centred. This paper looks at the plausibility of China as a 'factor' that influences bilateral intra-ASEAN trade flows through demand (exporting country) and supply (partner country). The key finding of the study is that China's trade association with the region increases intra-ASEAN exports. China is therefore the most practical choice for the ASEAN+1 FTA to initiate deeper trade integration within the region. China, as the 'core' country of the ACFTA can provide complementarities in the export performance of ASEAN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the rise of China as an emerging great power has been widely perceived across the world. How has the rise of China been represented over time in the Western news media? Has the image of China as a rising power had any impact on the country's soft power? These questions remain unanswered but answering them is of great significance in helping us understand the impact of the news media on the transformation of international politics in the information age. This paper conducts a longitudinal study to examine the nature of Chinese coverage and explores how the image of a rising China—economically, politically, regionally and globally—has been represented in three transnational newspapers in Europe. It further argues that the Western media coverage of China's rise is as a soft power, which, to some extent, has an impact upon China's foreign relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the past 15 years, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has preserved its non-Western (and sometimes anti-Western) identity and its policy toward the West has been based on a "soft-balancing" strategy. This paper aims to examine the SCO's identity positioning and understand the implications of its strategy and policy toward the West in terms of three recent global events relating to the SCO. India's membership effect will be able to soften the SCO's image of the club of authoritarian states or an anti-Western group as well as to make less-assertive its non-Western identity. China's economic power projection aiming at the "peaceful rise" is inclined to make the SCO's identity less anti-Western. Russia's policy of expanding partners and widening cooperation in greater Eurasia is also likely to weaken not only the rhetoric, but also the substance of the anti-Western narrative. The SCO's shift of identity positioning, in general, from the non-Western to a less assertive non-Western is likely to soften the SCO's soft balancing against the West, and the anticipated range and effect of the softer balancing could be greater due to the widened platform and the improved image. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is trying to present a post -- realist approach in order to explain the essence of the Chinese foreign policy, its main strategic trends of thoughts, and its perception about the complex contemporary world. Daoist and Confucianism roots within the content of some keyconcepts of the Chinese strategic contemporary trends are also identified as an effort to better understand the Chinese strategic culture and the way it shapes the future of international relations. Accommodating interests of the main characters is not a kind "idealistic objective", but rather it reveals a new foundation for realizing a "harmonious global society", by connecting different perceptions of the main civilizations about the "global governance" and about manking as a "community of common destiny". Far from expressing some utopian views "such as analyzing some of the main Chinese key-concepts as being the "harmonious world", a "New Security Concept" or "New Type of Relations between Great Powers" it can represent the beginning of a new stage in implementing "global governance" paradigm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is obvious that the security environment in East Asia is more unstable and unpredictable. In the South China Sea, tensions over disputed islands initiate a more severe Sino–American rivalry. In the East China Sea, China disputes the control over the Senkaku Islands, and is escalating military activities around those islands. North Korea continues provocative activities including launching of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons tests. This naturally leads to the idea that Japan needs to play a larger role to restore stability in the international order. This paper explores the challenges facing East Asian security in the face of the passage of Japan's new security bills in 2015 and how they impact the future of Japanese security policy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Asia-Pacific has seen the emergence of a new security dilemma, as geopolitical friction increases due to escalating crises. Significant tensions between China and many of its Asian neighbors have arisen due to maritime disputes, the North Korea nuclear crisis, and a military arms race. There are three main areas of the common security challenges in the Asia and Pacific region today: Chinese military growth, the U.S. military dominance and strategic “rebalance,” and conflicts or hot spots in the region. The future way out of the Asia-Pacific's current security dilemma depends heavily on how the U.S., China, and Japan can work together. This paper seeks to examine three issues: 1) the logic of China's military growth and how serious a threat it has posed to other countries in the region; 2) the major barriers that hold back military exchange programs between China and the U.S.; and 3) the intervening factor, the strengthening of a U.S.-Japan alliance and its repercussions for China. It will provide proposals to establish a collective framework including more specific security dialogues and cooperation in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Foro Internacional is the property of El Colegio de Mexico AC and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to assess the impact of China’s trade agreement and foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to Nigeria with special reference to the manufacturing sector utilizing the following key economic performance indicators: inflation, unemployment, income and gross domestic product, to name a few. Since the turn of the millennium, China has enjoyed a substantial presence in the African continent. In fact, the country has signed bilateral agreements with Angola, South Africa and Sudan to name a few. Recently, China established its West African trade hub in Lagos, the economic capital of Nigeria, to be strategically positioned. The results of the study revealed conclusively that although China’s investments over the years have benefited the Nigerian economy and its various firms in the manufacturing sector, the agreement signed by both countries ultimately needs to be reexamined to ensure equity. Design/methodology/approach – To thoroughly analyze the effects of China’s investments in Nigeria, this study was carried out in two phases. The first analysis of this study is anchored on a “before/after” framework based on descriptive statistical analysis of the selected economic performance indicators chosen from selected cross-national data. Accordingly, the time frame for this study runs from 1993-2012 which roughly corresponds to the era when China commenced significant investments in Nigeria. Second, employees, policymakers and individuals in the manufacturing/textile industries were interviewed. Furthermore, participation from federal as well as local government agency staff members was solicited using the Delphi technique. Findings – Empirically, the results conclusively reveal China’s dominance in the manufacturing and textile sectors in Nigeria. In other words, at face value, China’s investments are ultimately good for the Nigerian economy. However, at a micro-level analysis, the researcher examined the human factor, that is, the families of former and current employees, abandoned businesses/factories and a decaying textile industry that was once vibrant. Originality/value – To the knowledge of the researcher, this is the first study attempting to assess the impact of the rise of China on the Nigerian economy by combining key economic performance indicator in tandem with face-to-face interviews and the Delphi technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we review recent antitrust policy developments in China. First, we use a sample of all merger cases reviewed by the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) from August 2008 to September 2012 to provide an econometric analysis of merger review patterns. We find that MOFCOM tends to impose restrictions on mergers involving large corporations and does not distinguish between horizontal mergers and vertical and conglomerate mergers. In addition, European firms and U.S. firms face higher chances of restrictions than do firms from other countries. Finally, we provide a qualitative analysis of the investigations against price agreements. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Revista CS is the property of Rafael Silva Vega and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Percurso is the property of Revista Percurso and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In 2011, the United States of America (U.S.) adopted the "pivot to Asia" (also known as "return to Asia") foreign policy. In order to provide a critique of this apparent policy change, this paper has two aims. First, we will contextualize such policy agenda against the Anglo-American strategic culture of "containment" as a strand of geopolitical realism and a foreign policy practice against communism. Second, by providing a case study on the changing relations between the Union of Myanmar (Burma), the People's Republic of China and the United States of America, we will characterize U.S. containment and China's counter-containment strategies through the lens of Suntzu's Art of War. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Standing on the cusp of a global transition from a Western-dominated world to one experiencing the effects of the "economic renaissance of East Asia," as Giovanni Arrighi calls it, Ngũgĩ's wa Thiong'o's 2006 novel Wizard of the Crow reiterates the author's well-known critique of neocolonialism but also, perhaps more importantly, registers the growing presence of Asia in Africa and offers a thought-provoking consideration of the meaning of that presence in an era of global capital. Though commonly identified as a "dictator novel," Wizard is only partly about "The Ruler" of the fictional African nation of Aburĩria. Through the titular character, Ngũgĩ develops a narrative that explores the opportunities and dangers of embracing the paths of modernization marked out by the advancing economic powers of East Asia. This paper analyzes that narrative, focusing in particular on the thematic and formal elements that reflect and are relevant to China's all-important ambitions in Africa and its core policy of offering aid "without political conditions." These issues ultimately involve the novel in contemporary debates specific to the China-in-Africa phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates macro-level sources of variations across countries regrading China's national image, as measured by the proportion of the public in each of 35 countries that expressed a favorable view of China in the 2007 Pew Global Attitudes Survey. It turns out that several expected factors have no significant measurable impact on China's image: not the extent of strategic ties between China and a given country; not the political system of that country; not the extent of Chinese investment in the country; and not the number of Confucius institutes and classrooms in that country. The only macro-level factor we find to affect China's image in a country is that country's level of economic and social development, as measured by the UN Human Development Index. Controlling for the other factors, publics in poor or developing countries are much more likely to have a favorable image of China than publics in economically advanced countries. Some implications of our findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper revisits the debate about foreign policy implications of Chinese nationalism in the context of China's increasingly confrontational and assertive behavior in recent years. It argues that while the Chinese government made effective efforts to control popular nationalism and Chinese foreign policy was therefore not dictated by emotional nationalistic rhetoric before 2008, it has become more willing to follow the popular nationalist calls to take a confrontational position against the Western powers and to adopt tougher measures in maritime territorial disputes with its neighbors. This strident turn is partially because the government is increasingly responsive to public opinion, but more importantly because of the convergence of Chinese state nationalism and popular nationalism calling for a more muscular Chinese foreign policy. Enjoying an inflated sense of empowerment supported by its new quotient of wealth and military capacities, and terrified of an uncertain future due to increasing social, economic and political tensions at home, the communist state has become more willing to play to the popular nationalist gallery in pursuing the so-called core national interests. These developments have complicated China's diplomacy, creating a heated political environment to harden China's foreign policy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The turn of the century saw new trends in China's foreign affair policies springing up. Rebuilding its humanitarian cause, promoting economic diplomacy, cultivating cultural and citizen diplomacy, China seemed to run its soft power programme in Africa on the fullest and most comprehensive scale, yet it still takes the engagement of Chinese society to eventually exercise the "soft power". In the process of engaging public, media play a central role, which is what this paper examines. It begins by summarizing various aspects of China's involvement in Africa in relation to value sharing and co-identity building, followed by a textual analysis of how Chinese media ignite the imagination of Africa for their audience. The paper concludes that media seem to be the pivotal connection between the Chinese public and Africa. More than obvious governmental directives are behind the media's initial interest in African issues, while the media narratives are driven by different forces and meant to meet various needs and demands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Asian Studies Review is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Recent commentary on China's approach to Afghanistan has argued that it is either driven by opportunistic “free riding” on US-NATO efforts or a fundamental caution determined by security concerns in its restive province of Xinjiang. In contrast, this paper argues that China has three primary goals with respect to Afghanistan that mirror those toward the other states in “Greater Central Asia”: (1) to ensure the security of Xinjiang; (2) to secure the development of greater economic links, including investment in natural resources; and (3) to combat the influence of the United States and India. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Since 2004 China has set up over 700 Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms around the world to promote its language and culture and thereby to shape its image. Despite this impressive number Confucius Institutes are surprisingly understudied, especially in terms of their actual structure, operation mode and activities. This paper uses German Confucius Institutes as a case study to bridge this gap. It first discusses the concepts of public and cultural diplomacy and culture institutes as a conceptual tool to analyze Confucius Institutes. It then turns to the case study to provide empirical data to better understand this instrument of China's image shaping efforts. It argues that Confucius Institutes are connected to the rise of China and a unique member of the family of national culture institutes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Until the beginning of 2005, the "mood" in EU-China relations was generally optimistic, boasting that a new "Europe-China" axis was in the making, and the arms embargo might be lifted eventually. During the last five years the relationship between these two powers has been full of controversy and competition, though cooperation remains the main theme. With the change of leaders in the major European powers, notably the advent to power of Angela Merkel in Germany and Nicholas Sarkozy in France, the lustre that could be found in Europe-China relations during the days of Chirac and Schroeder gradually faded. The new leaders are more critical on the issue of human rights in China, the Tibetan problem etc., and also appear to be more ready to voice their dissatisfaction over the growing trade deficit with China. This paper will focus on whether and how China could play a role in the minds of European policy-makers in mapping the future of Europe, taking into consideration four contextual factors: the implications of globalization for Europe, regionalization efforts in Asia, the "peaceful rise" or the subsequent "peaceful development" of China, and multilateralism in Europe-Asia relations. The paper aims to investigate how political leaders in Europe and China think and proceed on the prospects for cooperating with one another, the political implications of their cooperation and conflict over the future international political order, and the difficulties ahead that might interfere with cooperation in various fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers an examination of FOCAC as a framework for Sino- African engagement in the 21st Century. China's growing and expanding engagement with Africa has assumed a prominent feature of International Relations and discourses. The engagement is multifaceted, encapsulating mainly trade and related economic ties. Given China's fast economic and industrial growth, thirst and huge demand for new sources of energy and other resources has been generated, bringing China closer to Africa where the availability of these resources abound. This situates China's renewed interest in Africa in the recent years. The deepening of economic involvement in Africa is realized through a mix of aid, special concessions, debt relief, scholarships, the provision of educational and medical training personnel and infrastructural investment projects. This represents a stark departure from the past under Mao Zedong, when the relationship was guided by the ideological conflict of the Cold War and especially Beijing's attempts to dislodge Moscow's influence in the Third World. Now economic pragmatism and symbolic diplomacy appear to navigate Sino-African relations. The lynchpin of China's reengagement of African in this century is the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), initiated at the Ministerial Conference in Beijing in 2000. The paper explores the FOCAC framework, assesses the reality of its promises, and addresses the question of its problems and challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Beijing Olympics have been watched closely by the South Korean media. In this paper its response to anticipated Chinese dominance of the Games, not least on the part of women, will be monitored, collated and analysed. Of particular interest is the South Korean media's extrapolation of expected Chinese dominance to future geo-political circumstances in the Western Pacific Rim and the possible consequences for South Korea. Are the Beijing Olympics a harbinger of the changing nature of political relationships in the region? Is this a concern of the South Korean media? If so, what is the nature of this concern and how are future relations with the Asian nascent superpower viewed? And far from least, if Chinese women come out on top in the Games what will be the political consequences for gender outcomes for South Korea? Is this of interest to the South Korean media? If not then why not? Finally, with the balance of power slowly and steadily shifting in the Pacific Rim region what does the media consider that the anticipated dominance of China at the Games imply for the relationship between South Korea and the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The following paper examines the historical origins and development of China's advocacy of the principle of noninterference in its African foreign policy and suggests that in spite of its consistent rhetorical support for noninterference over the last fifty years, the relevance of the principle in shaping Beijing's foreign policy decisions has varied as its pragmatic interests have shifted. China's post-Maoist leadership, in the drive to win the African resources and markets needed to bolster its growing, export-driven economy, has utilized the practice of noninterference to win a foothold on the continent. As its level of investment in Africa and dependency on African energy resources and markets have expanded, however, Beijing has found limiting its actions vis-à-vis a policy of noninterference less tenable, and as recurrences of regional instability and anti-Chinese populism have threatened its interests, citizens, and assets on the continent, will likely take a more forceful role in its relations with partner states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relations between the People's Republic of China and the European Union have matured significantly. While the European Commission is actively promoting an EU China policy, the influence of the member states continues to be a defining element. In this regard, most studies and political comments call for greater coherence in European China policies. Looking at recent debates and programmes in five member states, the paper identifies three trends: programmatic convergence, the politicisation of bilateral relations within member states and an increasing assertiveness towards the PRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historical controversies continue to plague northeast Asian politics today, with Chinese and Koreans protesting Japanese history textbooks and Japanese politicians' visits to Yasukuni Shrine, and Koreans protesting Chinese claims that the ancient Kingdom of Goguryo was Chinese, not Korean. Yet, there is little empirical research exploring what, if any, impact historical beliefs have on threat perception and foreign policy preferences in northeast Asia today. On the basis of surveys of Chinese, Japanese, and South Korean university students, this paper explores the relationships among beliefs about the past, perceived threat in the present, and foreign policy preferences for the future. Results and their implications for northeast Asian security are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The rise of China is seen by some observers as a precursor of inevitable hegemonic competition in East Asia. At the very least, it seems likely that China's influence in East Asia will grow at the expense of the United States. Whether this will eventually amount to a form of hegemonic transition is far less clear. It is, therefore, an opportune moment to consider the relative strengths and weaknesses of China and the US in East Asia. This paper suggests that the nature of hegemonic competition and transition is more uncertain and complex than some of the most influential theoretical understandings of hegemony would have us believe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Considering new trends in global politics, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan appreciates the peaceful rise of the Peoples Republic of China. The well-established Pak-China camaraderie entered the 21st century with the new hopes of exploring innovative economic opportunities. The paper examines this relationship based on the interest of both the countries to be vigilant of the emerging regional and global scenario and to come up with appropriate economic and security strategy to meet their common challenges. The prospects of Pak-China relations reveal its significant impact on the global politics in future. This article spotlights the adjustments and the new areas of cooperation, which China and Pakistan explored in their relations. Keeping in mind the belligerent neighbour of Pakistan i.e., India and China's relationship with India and the US, from the perspective of neorealist school of thought this paper explores the nature of bilateral partnership in the anarchic order of the 21st century and two-pronged promising approach of Pakistan and China. It also seeks to understand whether coordination between the two countries to assure their economic prosperity and security in the 21st century will help in achieving their national interest or not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through the lens of securitization theory, this article looks at the significant impact that non-traditional security has had over Chinese foreign policy. Over time, non-traditional security has changed from being understood as an opportunity to boost China's international standing, to being seen as an important category within security threats. China's security and diplomatic behavior has changed accordingly. In particular, China has become more confident in using and authorizing force. This article pinpoints this process started in the 1990s by looking at the debate within the government and the legal, institutional and military response against those new threats. It also prompts important considerations about the drivers and the direction of Chinese foreign policy, and the general approach of studying the same subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese "aid" is a lightning rod for criticism. Policy-makers, journalists, and public intellectuals claim that Beijing uses its largesse to cement alliances with political leaders, secure access to natural resources, and create exclusive commercial opportunities for Chinese firms--all at the expense of citizens living in developing countries. We argue that much of the controversy about Chinese "aid" stems from a failure to distinguish between China's Official Development Assistance (ODA) and more commercially oriented sources and types of state financing. Using a new database on China's official financing commitments to Africa from 2000 to 2013, we find that the allocation of Chinese ODA is driven primarily by foreign policy considerations, while economic interests better explain the distribution of less concessional flows. These results highlight the need for better measures of an increasingly diverse set of non-Western financial activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]