Week 3: China’s Foreign Policy
“Main factors influencing foreign policy making … Reform … Fundamental Changes of Foreign Policy from Keeping Low Profile to Striving for Achievements … Determining Factors of China Foreign Policy … Prof. Yan’s Perspective on China Foreign Policy Issues”
Summaries
- Week 3: China's Foreign Policy > Fundamental Changes of Foreign Policy from Keeping Low Profile to Striving for Achievements > Lecture Video
- Week 3: China's Foreign Policy > Determining Factors of China Foreign Policy > Lecture Video
- Week 3: China's Foreign Policy > Prof. Yan's Perspective on China Foreign Policy Issues > Lecture Video
Week 3: China’s Foreign Policy > Fundamental Changes of Foreign Policy from Keeping Low Profile to Striving for Achievements > Lecture Video
- One is about the fundamental change of the foreign policy from keeping low profile to striving for achievements.
- The change is that we change the goal of foreign policy.
- Just as we say, ‘keeping low profile’ strategy heavily focus on creating a peaceful environment for economic development.
- Xi Jinping adopts policy aiming at making friendship, making friends to make neighbors friendlier to us, to make more friends from all of the world.
- So this is very different, that’s also related to why China concerns to lend the money to others to help others to solve their economic problems This is the change.
- The second change is about the guideline, the guideline is that once we concern.
- If we maintain a peaceful environment that is good enough how can we make the peaceful? We don’t involve in the war If we do not involve in any war, we are in the peaceful environment.
- No matter how they fight against each other that’s your business, we do not involve in it But now, Xi Jinping said, no, if we want to have a good neighborhood, not only have no war.
- We should not be satisfied only with peaceful relationship with them We should have good relationship with them, we should help our neighbors And we should make neighbors benefit from China’s growth.
- It’s the first time And Xi Jinping said we should make our neighbors benefit from our growth Well lots of people don’t like that They say, ‘wait a minute, why do we let our neighbors take advantage of us? Why do we let our neighbors make money from us? We should make money from them’ If you concern the foreign policy serves the interest, money is the most related interest We should make more money from others, rather than make others take our money away’ But then Xi Jinping said, ‘no, money is important, but we should use some money for good relationship with our neighbors.
Week 3: China’s Foreign Policy > Determining Factors of China Foreign Policy > Lecture Video
- Now I think I move into the last section, ok? At the beginning, I talked about the national leaders, policy makers and then I talked about the political factor, it’s the determining factor in the national comprehensive power.
- I do not mean to lead you to believe that everything is decided by the political maker himself No Policy makers are also constrained by the environment they face, right? In what way? Two things, first is the international status, second is the international environment, or make it simple, is the international configuration.
- Why international status is so constraining policy makers? For instance, if you are richest in this class and I’m the poorest in this class.
- Now suddenly, there is a flood in Beijing, and the University calls people to donate for help.
- I ask you, all of us know you are much richer than me and I donate 100 Yuan, how much you donate can solve the problem being criticized by others, for a rich person? At least 200? 100,000? No matter what the amount is, you know that the rich person must donate more.
- Look at the earthquake in Sichuan, what happened? The people who donated very little strongly criticized those people who donated big money They say, ‘look at this movie star, he only donated a million’.
- For the movie star, a million is nothing, because they make 10 million every time, why did they only donate one million? If you ask the guy how much you donated, he said, 5 kuai, but because he is poor, he has right to criticize you when you donate a million.
- I mean that, the same for China, China becomes a rising power and this change of international status forces China to change its original behavior We can no longer behave like weak days It not becomes a pride of yourself, being proud of yourself, doing something very jaunty No. It doesn’t mean that If you do not do things in consistence with your status, you will be criticized, you will be regarded immoral.
Week 3: China’s Foreign Policy > Prof. Yan’s Perspective on China Foreign Policy Issues > Lecture Video
- Xuetong, you just made a very important point, that the culture or strategic thinking is extremely important in shaping foreign policies.
- Can you summarize for us what are the major difference between the Chinese strategic thinking and the U.S. or western one? Well, if you try to identify the differences between the Chinese culture and the European oriented culture.
- You can find them in many fields, but I just want to pick one of the key points.
- Traditionally, Chinese culture believes in the hierarchical system.
- So you knew that they are always talking about the so-called tribunal system and China is the center in ancient time, the peripheral countries contributed gifts to China.
- Actually, the system was invented at very very ancient times.
- They concern only you have hierarchical system you can maintain the stability and peace.
- If you look at the history and you will find that, even today not history, if you want to maintain the order in the UN. What you need, you need ash lands, and you have the P-5, the permanent members of the Security Council.
- You have the non-permanent members of the Security Council and ordinary countries.
- In World Bank, and MF you have the ash lands according to the shares and capital in the hand.
- So Chinese cultural formally believes without the ash land you can’t maintain the order so by your implication, would you say China will actually try to become the center of the world try to kind of emulate today’s U.S. dominance in international organizations in the World Bank and the UN? Today, from my understanding, I don’t think any Chinese believes it is possible to make China become the only super power in the world in this century.
- Recently, some economists, I think American economists suppose that 2015 will be the first year of the China’s century.
- I just publish an article posted tomorrow, you can see that on Global times, I think it won’t be possible.
- In China, I think every policy understands that We believe that no one can dominate the world.
- Americans are lucky became the dominant power after the cold war but that’s just by chance, and cannot last for over one hundred years.
- China, personally I believe, I don’t think China can achieve that position in this century OK, ‘dominance’ may be too strong for a word But would you say China will try to ‘a’ center or ‘the’ center of the world affairs If anyone has that kind of concern, I think he is doomed to fail.
- One thing is clear China and the U.S. already concern how to avoid the conflicts in the cyber fields escalating into military confrontation Wonderful! Very good discussion Thank you very much.
