China’s future role on the global stage hinges upon a mixture of strengths and weaknesses. Beijing’s meteoric rise in economic terms has been coupled by increasing military expenditures and a more assertive foreign policy stance. But the country is also facing a potential backlash, exemplified by protests in Hong Kong, while it remains to be seen whether (and how) the governance of the coronavirus outbreak will affect China's image abroad.
This report sets out to explore some of the key aspects of China’s regional and global foreign policy. It analyses the core tenets that motivate and shape China’s preferences, ideals, and actions, and explores how they interact with its partners, allies, and rivals.
Paolo Magri
1. The China Dream: The Regional and Global Strategic Story
Kerry Brown
2. President Xi’s Big Power Diplomacy: Advancing an Assertive Foreign Policy Agenda
Suisheng Zhao
3. Chinese New Terminology: “International Order” and “World Order”
Shin Kawashima
4. In the Words of the Dragon: China’s 2019 National Defence White Paper Unpacked
Giulia Sciorati
5. India in Sight, China’s Imprint Grows in South Asia
Harsh V. Pant
6. China’s Choice of Strategic Partners within the 17+1 Initiative
Chen Changwei, Nikola Stojanović
7. The EU and China. From “Strategic Partners” to “Systemic Rivals”
Axel Berkofsky
Conclusions. Policy Recommendations for the EU
Axel Berkofsky, Giulia Sciorati
