Country China and Foreign Policy With Reference

¶ … Country

China and Foreign Policy

With reference to any ONE country you have studied, how far does interdependence shape its foreign policy and in what ways

A Brief History of Chinese Foreign Affairs

China Reforms

Current Foreign Policy

Foreign Relations and Interdependency

China is an emerging force in the world, and it seems only to be natural, as the Chinese civilization is one of the ancient civilizations of the world. In fact theorists seem to question the reasons for its downfall, as it is the largest and has historically been the cultural and educational center for the world.

As far as its foreign policy is concerned, the Chinese government deals with it in a unique way, where the foreign affairs are the business of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which falls under the ambit of a department called the "Foreign Affairs Leading Small Group of the Communist Party of China." This ministry is sponsored by the government, but does not directly form part of it. These are think tanks that discuss foreign affairs and decide upon a foreign policy, and as the discussion group is not a formal part of government, these are more open and people present their views with less hesitation.

According to David Gosset (Gosset, 2011):

"The extraordinary Chinese ability to contextualize prepares the country's top decision-makers -- certainly at the level of the Foreign Affairs Leading Small Group of the Communist Party of China -- to have a holistic approach of world affairs (China). This should not be interpreted as a refusal to take a clear position on any singular question, but should be understood as the prudence to carefully consider how actions on one particular issue might affect the entire equilibrium of the system. While hard and soft power analyzes and targets the almost endless individual components of the global power game, subtle power apprehends synthetically their interactions." (Gosset, 2011)

This state of affairs reflects the traditional position that China has taken on its position in foreign affairs. Maybe it is reflective of their culture which is inclines towards being at peace with the environment and the world around them. That is the reason why, the country has not tried to impose its particular brand of ideology on other countries as USA and Soviet Union have been trying throughout history to promote Capitalism or communism respectively.

According to the Chinese Government's official website, the country is looking to foster peace and stability in the region, an environment of 'neighborliness' and to facilitate the development of an over-all well-off society.

A Brief History of Chinese Foreign Affairs

Ever since the People's Republic of China was established, the country has worked in the international arena to have itself considered as the sole representative of all of China, whereas the Republic of China, based in Taipei used to be the government that was recognized by the UN as the diplomatic government in China until the 1970's when the government in Beijing took over. As Beijing became more important as a player in the international arena, other world players have increasingly recognized the PRC as the representative government in China. The U.S.A. however recognizes both, and in its statement leaves what it means by China ambiguous deliberately due to its diplomatic ties and economic dependency on Taiwan as PRC and ROC make it incumbent for the countries that it establishes diplomatic ties with to not recognize the other

China has had a history of sour relations with the U.S.A., and has tried to maintain a foreign policy that is independent of the U.S.A. And the Soviet Union, assuming the diplomatic position of a non-aligned partner. (Chen, 1979) It has been in opposition of a single world power, with its goal to date being to promote multi-polarization. (China's Foreign Affairs and International Relations, 2012)

China Reforms

China in the 1970's and 1980's, after the death of Mao was in a quandary and there was no real successor to carry out his legacy. It was not until 1978 that economic reforms of capitalistic nature started in China, where the Communist Party of China initiated market reforms in order to boost the abysmal state of economic affairs to a developmental start.

The new leader, Deng Xiaoping encouraged entrepreneurs to start up their own businesses, looking to boost private enterprise in the country. Moreover this stage was characterized by the further opening up of the Chinese economy for foreign direct investment. This was the initial point, and at this stage most of the industry remained in the public sector. The second stage was when the government actively sought decentralization of power and privatization of companies that were under state control. This was done also in terms of contracting out some public sector company work or functions to private enterprise leading to more private participation over all in the economy. These firms were given incentives to produce as efficiently as possible, and to maximize output in order to earn more. These firms were also allowed to get loans and were also permitted, in certain areas of the economy to liaise with foreign partners to form Joint Ventures. This policy was a purposeful change in stance, and in essence has led to the transfer of foreign knowledge and skills to China, which today has become evident.

In consonance with the reforms of China, the government also created a global environment establishing diplomatic ties with other countries which could help China develop its economic potential. China at the time worked on its diplomatic ties with the West and looked to them for help and to establish capitalism in the country. Moreover, it sought Western assistance in trying to achieve its objectives, on the behest of trying to overcome Soviet expansion in the region.

Current Foreign Policy

The recent foreign policy of China, with respect to the findings by Micheal D. Swaine indicate that contrary to popular belief to do with China's oppressive regime, its policies are not expected to change much, neither will these policies be more pre-west or towards free markets as the policy is pragmatic as well as cautious and is expected to suit the economic climate of China. (Swaine, 1995)

However as China's might increases, there will be strain in Chinese regional ties as these policies are not aligned with the modernization that is being followed in the country. However U.S. pressure to adopt strategies and policies similar to its own will not be as high, because a stable environment in China is expected to benefit USA as well, as USA relies heavily on Chinese exports.

The relationship schedule with the U.S.A. has been swung high and low during the course of history, where China considered USA a hyper-power, and improved relations with Russia and Europe in order to keep the power of USA in check. However, as the 21st century begun, the country's position was reconsidered, after the U.S.A. showed its might and influence in its intervention in Kosovo and China re-geared its strategy for the U.S.A., and initiated policies that would make its place in a world with one superpower.

As far as other countries are concerned, starting from the Asian region, China has been trying to stabilize the region and pursue peace-making policies which will be to its own benefit. Moreover, the country has been seeking to uplift its profile as a global player through its seat on the UN and has made efforts to decrease the amount of tensions in the region.

During the late 1990s and early 21st century, Chinese foreign policy appeared to be focused on improving relations with Russia and Europe to counterbalance the United States. This strategy was based on the premise that the United States was a hyper power whose influence could be checked through alliances with other powers, such as Russia or the European Union. This assessment of United States power was reconsidered after the United States intervention in Kosovo, and as the 20th century drew to a close, the discussion among think tanks in China involved how to reorient Chinese foreign policy in a uni-polar world.

China has also worked for peace in its own region, where it initially was an ally of North Korea, but as South Korea grew as an economic power, China realized the advantage of allying with South Korea, and the need for peace between the two countries, and to this end initiated Six-party talks with South Korea, North Korea, USA, Japan and Russia.

The country is working for closer ties with India, Pakistan, Korea, and other ASEAN countries talking at forums to strengthen cooperation. Moreover the country, with its objective to promote multi-polarization in the world, has cooperated more with Russia and the two countries are strengthening ties in order to counterbalance the superiority of USA through this partnership.

As far as its relationship, with its age-old rival India is concerned, China and India have improved relations with each other. The two countries have had a history of distrust especially over China's support of Pakistan, India's rival country. But as China has tries to mediate better ties between Pakistan and India in a bid to encourage stability in the region, Chinese Indian relations have also become stronger. Additionally the two countries have put the war of 1962 behind, recognizing each other's might as economic powers and being among the emerging superpowers of the world. The two countries have increased trade relations in the last few years with China on the back of its better relations with India becoming their largest trading partner.

As far as Japan and Vietnam are concerned, they have been in conflicting relations with China, but in 2000 a major issue with maritime borders with Vietnam was resolved, even though some border disputes still exist. But there was a blow to its Japanese and Indian neighbors when it opposed the move to have Japan and India as permanent members in the UN Security Council. This was done as a precautionary measure as China has had fought wars with both countries, and such a status could threaten China's policies.

Foreign Relations and Interdependency

In the 1970s and 1980s, China sought to create a secure regional and global environment for itself and to foster good relations with countries that could aid its economic development. To this end, China looked to the West for assistance with its modernization drive and for help in countering Soviet expansionism, which it characterized as the greatest threat to its national security and to world peace.

China maintained its consistent opposition to "superpower hegemonies," focusing almost exclusively on the expansionist actions of the Soviet Union and Soviet proxies such as Vietnam and Cuba, but it also placed growing emphasis on a foreign policy independent of both the U.S. And the Soviet Union. While improving ties with the West, China continued to closely follow the political and economic positions of the Third World Non-Aligned Movement, although China was not a formal member.

It can be seen from the way that Chinese foreign policy has evolved, that the Chinese hold economic grow6h and power at the core of all their policies, other countries have other goals such as USA and Russia have economic might as well as influence and expansion of their ideologies into other countries, but for china and its non-interfering stance, the major goals of diplomatic ties is to develop peace and stability do that trade and commerce may flourish.

It can be seen in how China moved from a low profile position to that of a high profile player in world affairs promoting peace and stability so that's its economic growth could progress unhindered. One of the biggest examples of this stance is with India, where China and India were in an adversarial relationship ever since their independence. This was also the time when India was a closed country and its economic growth was not very high. This was also the time when Pakistan, being a more liberal economy had opened its policies to imports and was showing a high growth rate. Therefore China found it more economically feasible to develop and foster closer ties with Pakistan. But as time went on India and not Pakistan was seen as the country with potential being one of the emerging economies from the world's underbelly. Therefore, the recent stance of China towards India is friendly and the country is finding itself a big market for its goods in the large Indian domestic economy.