Did China’s Foreign Policy Really Change in the Post-Cold War Era?
Author: Lang Kao
Abstract / Chinese PDF Download
The purpose of the paper is to examine how Chinese foreign behavior has been affected by Deng’s idea of modernization. In Deng’s view, if China wants to develop its backward economy, it urgently needs to maintain peaceful and stable relations with major powers and its neighboring countries. Over the past quarter century, Beijing has consistently followed Deng’s idea of modernization, thereby de-escalated tension with its neighbors such as former Soviet Union, Vietnam, or India. More importantly, China established diplomatic relations with the United States in 1979. In other words, the purpose of Chinese diplomacy under the rubric of modernization is not to expand influence abroad but to create an environment conducive to domestic economic development. With dramatic changes in international system after the collapse of the Soviet bloc, Beijing seems not to change the way of its foreign policy. It continues to put much attention to its relations with major powers and its neighbors with a hope that the peaceful and stable situations surrounding China could be maintained without any disturbance. However, with the rise of Chinese power and its economy entwined with global economy, Beijing gradually finds it more difficult to deal with the changes in international society. The paper also focuses on Beijing’s relations with Taiwan in recent years and with the United States after 9/11 incident.