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This article studies the collaboration between the Chinese and Vietnamese communists in the socialist transformation of their shared borderlands after the First Indochina War. It both complicates and clarifies the volatile bilateral relationship between the two emerging communist states as they solidified their power in the 1950s. Departing from traditional narratives of Sino-Vietnamese relations which focus on wars and conflicts, this article examines how the timely convergence of Cold War and state expansion transformed the Sino-Vietnamese borderlands from 1954 to 1957. Using both Chinese and Vietnamese archival sources, it contends that the Chinese and Vietnamese communists pursued two interrelated goals in carrying out the political projects at the territorial limits of their countries. First, they wanted to build an inward-looking economy and society at the respective borders by consolidating the national administration of territory. Second, they wanted to impose a contrived Cold War comradeship between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) in place of the organic interdependence of people within the borderlands that had existed in the area for centuries. The Sino-Vietnamese border, therefore, was the focus of joint state-building by the two communist governments, which made the cross-border movement of people and goods more visible, manipulable, and, more importantly, taxable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholarly efforts to predict the future character of the U.S.-China relationship abound. Few however looks to leaders’ beliefs as valid explanatory variables. In this paper, we argue that state leaders’ belief systems are key to understanding both the states’ intentions and policy choices. We analyze China’s national defense white papers (1998-2015) published to date as the source material to gauge the core collective beliefs of three generations of Chinese leadership. The operational code framework is employed to conceptualize and measure these beliefs. Our results identified important crossgenerational changes in a few belief indicators. In the Xi Jinping era, for instance, the political world is seen as less friendly and cooperative strategies are viewed less favorably. In terms of tactics, the policy tools “threaten” and “promise” are viewed as significantly more useful by the current leadership than by past Chinese leaders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on China's political influence in international affairs, as mediated by Chinese economic integration with the BRI countries. We propose that the BRI plays a role in influencing partner countries to support China's presence in the international community, and the economic integration of the BRI positively mediates the willingness of partner countries to align with China in international affairs. This paper uses panel data from 147 BRI countries collected between 2009 and 2020, and the difference-in-differences method, to estimate the political influence of the BRI. The results suggest that the BRI motivates partner countries to support the growth of China's influence in international affairs. The results of the causal mechanism analysis indicate that a significant and positive association between the implementation of the BRI and China's influence is mediated by promoting Chinese contracts, trade overseas, and outward FDI. The examinations of heterogeneity demonstrate that BRI countries that are developing, non-landlocked, non-neighboring, having signed the memorandum of understanding or cooperation memorandum of understanding, or lacking a Chinese investment guide are more likely to support China's political presence. This paper concludes with insights into how China implements the BRI to enhance its political ascent in the global order by facilitating economic integration of the BRI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic policy uncertainty has had an important impact on trade and sustainable economic development. Especially in some specific industries, uncertainty has increased dramatically. The extant related literature mainly analyzes the nexus between uncertainty and trade across different industries and focuses less on a specific industry. Using Chinese customs data on HS 8-digit products over the period of 2000–2013, this paper first investigates the impact of both foreign economic policy uncertainty (EPU) and domestic intra-industry trade on China's mechanical and electrical product exports to 23 trading partners and applies pooled OLS regressions to conduct an empirical study. This paper finds that EPU has a significant inhibition effect on mechanical and electrical product exports; conversely, intra-industry trade can both significantly promote exports and alleviate the inhibition effect of EPU. In addition, the export impact of EPU varied with different trade patterns. It can significantly inhibit processing exports, while it has no effect on ordinary exports. The results of this paper indicate that in the context of increasing uncertainty, our findings could have far-reaching policy implications for China to build a new development pattern of domestic and international dual circulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a conceptual and analytical framework of states' legitimacy-seeking to comprehensively investigate the motivation behind China's climate and environment policy. While previous research has largely overlooked political factors that underlie China's climate policy, this paper argues that these factors are crucial in understanding China's policy changes, which are evident at both domestic and international levels. By examining sources such as government documents, leaders' speeches and authoritative literature, this study contends that China's climate change initiatives are part of a broader effort to enhance domestic and international legitimacy. The issue of climate change has become highly politicised in China under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, and it serves as a crucial test of the ruling party and the state's capacity to govern effectively. As such, legitimacy-seeking is the key driver that links China's domestic measures and international commitments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to study the dynamics and influencing factors of China-Argentina cooperation in the multilateral framework from a multidimensional theoretical perspective, in order to reveal the external thrust and internal logic of the development of Sino-Argentine relations. The four theories discussed in the paper are not opposed but complementary to each other. Together, they explain the factors that drive and hinder Sino-Argentine cooperation at the multilateral level. This article also presents a study of Sino-Argentine cooperation practices at three different levels of multilateral platforms, namely the UN General Assembly and Security Council, the G20 and the China-CELAC Forum. Cooperation between China and Argentina in multilateral mechanisms not only helps communication, understanding and coordination of positions between China and Argentina on major international issues, but also contributes to jointly enhancing the voice and influence of developing countries in international affairs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines Philippine foreign policy under the Duterte government (2016–2022). During this period, Philippine foreign policy is widely acknowledged to have undergone dramatic shifts, with the government making friendly overtures towards China at the cost of its traditional alliance with the US. From a foreign policy analysis perspective, this paper explicitly focuses on the role of political leadership in guiding national foreign policy. This paper argues that the Duterte government made strategic use of political marketing in promoting its populist foreign policy. Thus, political marketing is used as an analytical lens with which to examine much of the rhetoric and behaviour of the Duterte government, particularly in regard to its response to the US–China rivalry. By engaging in this supposedly diplomatic game, the Duterte government tried to sell its foreign policy promises and outcomes as products even when its rhetoric was at times disconnected from its actual performance. Overall, this paper develops an alternative perspective from which to add to our understanding of the role of populist foreign policy initiatives in a fragile democratic setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

This paper examines the ties between Latin America and Asia by moving beyond the homogenisation of the two regions through elevating the importance of opposition to a third party, in this case an "imperialist" and developed North. In contrast to normative analyses based on outmoded conceptions of world history, it proposes an intellectual exercise that problematises the interregional bond by placing the emphasis on heterogeneities rather than broad bush approaches that ignore the complex and diverse national and regional realities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a world of growing international competition and rivalry between China and the United States, Latin America and the European Union (EU) are caught in the same thorny dilemma. Positioned between these global giants, both regions are facing a retorn to a Westphalian system of nation-states, which undermines their roles as emerging regional players. In view of these new global challenges in Latin America and the EU, this paper uses a qualitative and comparative approach to explore foreign policy discourses on autonomy in both regions. It examines their goals and priorities and assesses the potential regional and interregional consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the underlying meaning of Chinese political ideas as represented in the Belt and Road discourse. It aims to contribute to overcoming the bias towards democratic systems in security studies. It challenges the argument that China's peaceful words can be taken at face value and compared with the ideas of democratic regimes. It delivers insights on new perspectives in the 'political threat versus desecuritization' discussion. This paper applies a qualitative discourse analysis with primary data collection of Chinese governmental and state institutional documents, Chinese think tank papers, and joint statements of EU-Chinese governmental officials. The data was analysed with NVivo Software. The empirical analysis shows that Chinese actors have built up a threat narrative idea which is hidden behind words such as 'trust, harmony, pluralism, community of a shared destiny'. Theoretically, this paper shows that the organizing principle, to apply Buzan's words, needs to be acknowledged when interpreting the way Chinese actors frame ideas in the BRI discourse. It challenges the argument of China as a desecuritization actor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of 'revisionism' has caught the attention of international relations scholars amid intensifying rivalry between the United States and China. It is a trademark of rising powers, and China was likewise expected to become a revisionist power, intent on changing the status quo. However, history tells us that not all rising powers necessarily become revolutionary states, seeking to overturn the prevailing order and replace it with another through hegemonic wars. This paper presents a novel understanding of revisionism by distinguishing between strategic 'contestation' and 'challenge'. In the context of declining unipolarity, a dissatisfied rising power will contest the rules and principles of issue-specific regimes and demand legitimate adjustments that better reflect the new distribution of power. A challenge emerges when demands are rejected, and a contestation leads to 'deconcentration' and 'delegitimation' of the established order. The establishment of the AIIB can be examined as an example of contested multilateralism that falls short of a challenge. This paper concludes that China is 'contesting', not 'challenging' the liberal international order and suggests a set of countermeasures that the U.S. can think of: selective accommodation, reinforcement of alliances and partnerships, and overcoming domestic challenges such as populism that undermine the liberal values, constitutive of the liberal international order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper revises the bellicist theory of state-making by examining the interconnection between state-making and nation-building in the Third World. It argues that nation-building mobilisations for the purposes of self-preservation and aversion of unbalanced wars are equally crucial. By focusing on the People's Republic of China's involvement in the Afro–Asian cultural cooperation in the 1950s, this paper elaborates on how internationalism plays a role in the state-driven mobilisation of the general public for the purpose of nation-building in China. It looks at the role of transnational exchanges of cultural productions and cooperation in spurring social empowerment and nation-building in the post-World War II Afro–Asian world under the framework of the Afro–Asian solidarity movement. The Afro–Asian cultural cooperation was intended to create alternative visions to the West-centric narratives of modernisation among the general public. These visions in turn inspired the general public to be involved in nation-building movements in respective Global South nations. This synchronic relationship between national independence and internationalism in China is crucial in understanding the state-making in the Global South as a process of political, economic and, more importantly, cultural decolonisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyses how the rise of China will change the international system and how it will alter decisions and actions taken by the United States. As such, it will also analyse the operational implications for Europe resulting from the United States military capabilities' relocation to Asia-Pacific. This is an important topic as the European Union enters the era of new international order and faces new challenges for its security cooperation. By defining a security strategy the EU has acknowledged the importance of European cooperation as well as cooperation with the United States. Nevertheless it still examines the ways to cooperation. This paper utilises Realism -- in particular, the Power Transition Theory -- to account for China's rise and America's response to it. It combines theory with historic and contemporary actions, draws conclusions and makes recommendations. The study finds that with the United States' rebalancing of its military efforts to the Asia-Pacific, which could be compounded should the US become distracted by a crisis in East-Asia, Europeans may face a number of capability-driven operational implications as well as operational implications resulting from political differences, should they seek to undertake their own military operations. This work also analyses existing and evolving forms of security cooperation within Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since establishing diplomatic relations in October 1949, North Korea and China have forged a complex alliance characterized by both firm solidarity and mutual distrust. This paper analyzes the ups and downs of their alliance relationship by examining the "Northeast Rear Doctrine" (NRD) suggested by Mao Zedong in the early 1960s, which proposed that North Korea could utilize China's Northeast region as its rear base in the event of a war on the Korean Peninsula. Mao's proposal represents the apex of the Sino-North Korean alliance, implying China's temporary concession of its sovereignty over the northeastern territory to North Korea. However, when China and South Korea established diplomatic relations in 1992, the NRD policy was virtually abolished, thereby significantly affecting Sino-North Korean relations. First, it exacerbated security threats to North Korea's regime as Northeast China, which once served as Pyongyang's rear base, was transformed into Seoul's outpost for infiltration into North Korea. Second, it deepened North Korea's distrust of China and served as a catalyst for transforming Sino-North Korean relations into normal state-to-state dynamics, rather than the traditional party-to-party relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does power shape foreign policy attitudes? Drawing on advances in psychological research on power, I argue that the sense of relative state power explains foreign policy hawkishness. The intuitive sense that "our state" is stronger than "your state" activates militant internationalism, an orientation centered on the efficacy of force and deterrence to achieve state aims. Beyond general orientation towards the world, this sense of power explains discrete attitudes towards pressing security issues, from threat perception in the South China Sea to nuclear weapons use against Iran. Five original surveys across the US, China, and Russia, as well as an experiment fielded on the US public, lend support to these claims. The psychological effects of state power overshadow dispositional traits common in behavioral IR, like individuals' personalities and moral proclivities. More surprisingly, power changes individuals, making hawks of even the most dovish. Taken together, the paper presents a "first image reversed" challenge to standard bottom-up accounts of foreign policy opinion and offers unique explanatory leverage in a potential era of US decline, China's rise, and Russian belligerence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing scholarship has demonstrated that theorising about security is Eurocentric. This leaves us with a partial account of the concept of security, which is presented as universal. This in turn generates explanatory problems because we are only seeing part of the picture. Yet there have been few attempts to move beyond critiques of Eurocentrism to examine the concept of security 'elsewhere'. This paper takes China as its starting point, asking: what can looking at China tell us about security? In answering this question, the paper makes two contributions. First, it presents new empirical findings, building a conceptual history of security in China. Drawing on 140 key texts dating 1926–2022, the paper traces the emergence of the concept of security in China and its evolution through three explicit security concepts. Drawing on postcolonial insights it demonstrates that these concepts are hybrid, evolving out of multiple domestic and international influences. They have similarities as well as differences with the Eurocentric concept that dominates International Security Studies (ISS) and produce a discrete approach towards security that has been overlooked in a discipline that uses 'Europe to explain Asia'. Second, considering these insights, the paper demonstrates that the universal concept of security that underpins theorising in ISS is partial and misleading. Differences in security concepts matter for theorising security and for understanding security policy. Consequently, I argue that we need to provincialize the concept of security: a truly global security studies is of necessity a provincial one attuned to difference and similarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: At the beginning of the 21st century, international adoptions of children with cleft lip and/or palate increased dramatically in Sweden. Many children arrived partially or totally unoperated, despite being at an age when palatoplasty has usually been performed. To date, the speech development of internationally adopted (IA) children has been described up to age 7–8 years, but later development remains unstudied. Aims: To investigate speech development between ages 5 and 10 years in children born with cleft lip and palate (CLP) adopted from China and to compare them with non‐adopted (NA) children with CLP. A secondary aim was to compare the frequencies of secondary palatal surgery and number of visits to a speech and language pathologist (SLP) between the groups. Methods & Procedures: In a longitudinal study, 23 IA children from China were included and matched with 23 NA children born in Sweden. Experienced SLPs blindly reassessed audio recordings from routine follow‐ups at ages 5 and 10 years. Velopharyngeal function (VPF) was assessed with the composite score for velopharyngeal competence (VPC‐Sum) for single words and rated on a three‐point scale (VPC‐Rate) in sentence repetition. Target sounds in words and sentences were phonetically transcribed. Per cent correct consonants (PCC) were calculated at word and sentence levels. For in‐depth analyses, articulation errors were divided into cleft speech characteristics (CSCs), developmental speech characteristics (DSCs) and s‐errors. Information on secondary palatal surgery and number of visits to an SLP was collected. Outcomes & Results: VPF differed significantly between the groups at both ages when assessed with VPC‐Sum, but not with VPC‐Rate. Regardless of the method for assessing VPF, a similar proportion in both groups had incompetent VPF but fewer IA than NA children had competent VPF at both ages. IA children had lower PCC at both ages at both word and sentence levels. More IA children had CSCs, DSCs and s‐errors at age 5 years, and CSCs and s‐errors at age 10. The development of PCC was significant in both groups between ages 5 and 10 years. The proportion of children receiving secondary palatal surgery did not differ significantly between the groups, nor did number of SLP visits. Conclusions & Implications: CSCs were more persistent in IA children than in NA children at age 10 years. Interventions should target both cleft and DSCs, be comprehensive and continue past the pre‐school years. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on this subject: At the beginning of the 21st century, IA children with cleft lip and/or palate arrived in Sweden partially or totally unoperated, despite being at an age when palatoplasty has usually been performed. Studies up to age 7–8 years show that adopted children, compared with NA peers, have poorer articulation skills, demonstrate both cleft‐related and developmental articulation errors, and are more likely to have velopharyngeal incompetence. Several studies also report that adopted children more often require secondary palatal surgery due to fistulas, dehiscence or velopharyngeal incompetence compared with NA peers. What this paper adds to existing knowledge: This longitudinal study provides additional knowledge based on longer follow‐ups than previous studies. It shows that the proportion of children assessed to have incompetent VPF was similar among IA and NA children. It was no significant difference between the groups regarding the proportion that received secondary palatal surgery. However, fewer IA children were assessed to have a competent VPF. Developmental articulation errors have ceased in most IA and all NA children at age 10 years, but significantly more adopted children than NA children still have cleft‐related articulation errors. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?: Speech and language therapy should target both cleft‐related and developmental articulation errors. When needed, treatment must be initiated early, comprehensive, and continued past the pre‐school years, not least for adopted children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents the February 2000 white paper by the People's Republic of China about the relations of Mainland China and Taiwan. China's basis and prerequisite for achieving peaceful reunification; Questions involving the One China Principle in cross-strait relations; Adherence to the One China principle in the international community. INSET: PRC White Paper....

In this white paper the Chinese government assesses the security environment; defines, and elaborates on, its national defense policy including its commitment to the policy of no first use of nuclear weapons at any time and under any circumstances; and describes the defense situation and activities in 2006. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientists and diplomats have significant differences in professional skills, activity time and work content, but they should work together. With the deepening impact of science and technology (S&T) on socio-economic development and international relations, S&T has become a crucial component of national strategies, particularly for diplomacy. There is a need for scientific evidence and advice, meaning that mastering more knowledge and skills in S&T would be helpful in negotiations. This paper analyses the ideas of S&T diplomacy, including a review of its 40-year history in China, its definition (with detailed connotations) and its characteristics. The paper focuses on the significant role of people-to-people communication in S&T, which may inform future work. Five suggestions are given to strengthen the strategic planning of S&T diplomacy: (1) A more clarified, strategic goal of future-oriented S&T diplomacy is required; (2) It is important to build a theoretical system for China to describe S&T diplomacy; (3) The creation of a global S&T cooperation map that adapts to the new type of international relations would be valuable; (4) Fairness and justice shall be maintained, while a reform of the global S&T governance system is promoted; (5) It is a must to adhere to bottom-line thinking and strengthen risk prediction and emergency responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Republic of Equatorial Guinea (EG) joined the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Forum Macao) in 2022, becoming the tenth member-state. This occurred during the 2022 Extraordinary Ministerial Conference, after it acceded to the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) in 2014. Since 2015, China and EG have been intensifying their bilateral cooperation after establishing a comprehensive cooperative partnership (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, 2015). In 2019, the two countries signed a Belt and Road Initiative (B&RI) MoU during the second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, and initiated a strategic approach for bilateral cooperation. Consequently, considering the uniqueness of EG as a Portuguese-speaking Country (PSC) and as the newest member of Forum Macao, this paper poses and answers the following research question: What will be the impact of Sino-Equatoguinean cooperation in light of EG's recent accession to FM? Methodologically, the research uses qualitative data supported by triangular referencing, including official and non-official sources, namely official statistics, academic papers, and media reports, to look into the bilateral Sino-Equatoguinean relations under the B&RI Lusophone framework, as well as the fact that EG is a CPLP member state. Accordingly, the methodologic rationale focuses on the uniqueness of EG as one of the Lusophone countries and relates it to the Chinese B&RI at three levels: domestic, regional and global. This paper is organized as follows: (1) Introduction; (2) The uniqueness of EG as a PSC; (3) The B&RI and the Lusophone Countries; (4) Cooperation between Equatorial Guinea and China; (5) Conclusion - The Future of Sino-Equatoguinean Cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China remains reluctant in claiming unilateral economic sanctions as a valid form of statecraft. China has consistently withheld official acknowledgment of its use of unilateral sanctions despite using them in different disputes. This has resulted to observations arguing that China is increasingly approaching the use of sanctions in a stealthier, therefore, more aggressive manner. It begs to ask, how does China's reluctant attitude towards its use of unilateral economic sanctions fit into China's overall foreign policy logic? More specifically, how does China's victimhood discourse justify unilateral sanctions and at the same time, promote a positive identity of itself in light of coercion? This paper argues that China's consistent vague acknowledgment and denial in claiming a direct hand on unilateral sanctions comes from its broad foreign policy objective of maintaining a positive identity through its discourse of victimhood. To uncover this understanding, this paper analyzes China's official positions in six bilateral disputes where China has resorted to unilateral sanctions. While existing observations only stop at 'plausible deniability' as primary explanation for China's vague rhetoric, analyzing China's predication strategies provides a necessary nuancing in terms of how this peculiar behavior remains consistent with China's overall foreign policy logic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mutual hostility and confrontation characterized the first two decades of relations between the United States and the People's Republic of China. This article examines the impact of the Korean War on creating and perpetuating this mutual enmity. The first half describes how the U.S. reaction to the outbreak of the Korean War and especially Chinese military intervention in the conflict removed any chance for an early reconciliation, discussing Washington's specific policies from June 1950 until the armistice in July 1953 aimed at achieving diplomatic isolation and economic punishment of China's new regime. The second half defines China's five primary postwar foreign policy goals and explains how Beijing faced strident opposition from the United States in its attempts to achieve each objective. While Washington's efforts largely failed, U.S. actions ensured that Sino-American relations would remain poisoned for fifteen more years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the interest of New Zealand of building a strong relationship with the U.S. and its accommodation of China. It examines the transformation of power in the Asia-Pacific region such as the shift of the locus of global power to Asia and the changes within the region's distribution of power. It offers the analysis of Australian National University professor of strategic studies Hugh White and Hedley Bull on the major power relations and its implications on New Zealand policy.

Since 2013, China has undertaken extensive reclamation and construction on several reefs in the Spratly Island chain in the South China Sea. China has since been adding new construction and fortifications to the land features that had undergone reclamation between late 2013 and 2015, but none of the new projects rivalled the large-scale reclamation from 2014–15, and nor has China reclaimed any new land features. Land reclamation has theoretical and empirical implications. The literature regarding maritime disputes in the South China Sea is rich and plenty. Many studies, however, focus on China's bilateral assertive or coercive behaviour as well as China's general strategy in the South China Sea, not land reclamation per se. What explains the timing of China's large-scale land reclamation in the South China Sea? Why did China decide to initiate large-scale land reclamation in the first place? This paper, therefore, conducts a comprehensive case study analysing China's land reclamation decisions. I argue that China's land reclamation is a result of capability, rationale, and opportunities which include a calculation of U.S. resolve. This study has implications for understanding Chinese foreign policy decision-making and contributes to the credibility debate in the coercion literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a critical review of Nye's conceptualization of soft power, this paper extends the literature by examining how Chinese diplomatic actors deploy cultural soft-power discursive practices when publishing opinion pieces in the British press to construct the attractiveness of China. It conducts a corpus-assisted critical discourse analysis. Findings show that they strategically deploy charm offensive, defensive denial and Othering offensive to construct a distinctively positive Chinese Self and a positive Us as inclusive as possible under the influence of ideological square. The identified major topoi are characterized by imbuing China's foreign policies and its world vision with Chinese traditional cultural and moral values, hopefully to justify China's extensive use of the economic prowess to gain soft power, and justify its ability and incentive to play a more important role in global governance. It sheds some light on understanding Chinese diplomatic actors' distinctive cultural soft-power mediated discursive practices in the general context of a non-Western government communicating and engaging with Western audiences. It also contributes to the understanding of China's strategic thinking and its world vision in the Xi Jinping era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tensions in the EU-China relationship have hampered cooperation in various sectors, including a set of transnational security issues where engagement with China is unavoidable but nevertheless profoundly challenging. The EU maintains a "tripartite" strategy, originally outlined in its 2019 Strategic Outlook, seeing China as a "partner", but also as an economic "competitor" and a "systemic rival". China's former State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi has described the European approach as suffering from "cognitive dissonance". As a result, and as demonstrated by the failure of the 2022 EU-China Summit, the two parties are now operating within two different frameworks, and constructive cooperation has become increasingly difficult. By working with Qin Yaqing's concept of "relationality", this article aims to contribute to a better conceptualisation of the ways in which the EU and China can work with each other to tackle global issues. Challenging the literature that tries to explain the shift in EU-China relations by focusing on individual actors, this research's approach focuses on the relations between actors. Adopting this ontology of relations, this research paper analyses how, in the EU-China relationship, relations between the two parties contribute to creating their own identities and motivate their actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses about various issues related to the U.S. security policy on China. This discussion shows that, from China's perspective, the key to improving the U.S.-China relations is not stressing common interests in reality, but stressing China's long-term goodwill. The most important issue in the U.S.-China security relations is Taiwan issue. When dealing with Taiwan issue, China should also take into account how to influence the U.S. concerns about gains. The U.S., therefore, might adopt a more co-operative policy on China.

China has been contributing to new approaches to global governance. The Health Silk Road (HSR), a significant component of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), was proposed by China in 2016. This paper claims that HSR is a new institution introduced alongside the existing WHO-led multilateral health system, and its relationship with the existing system can be described as layering. Having explored the new development of HSR during COVID-19, this paper further argues that while HSR has its unique strength in making contributions to global health governance and economic recovery, it faces a prominent issue of securitisation in the context of China-U.S. strategic competition, suspicion of the quality of medical products and sectoral fragmentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluates the various factors that influence the relationship between mainland China and Taiwan. Details on international factors; Factors originating in mainland China; Factors arising from developments within Taiwan.

Examines issues surrounding the national unity and territorial integrity of Taiwan. Significance of national reunification of China and Taiwan; Discussion on the civil war started by the Kuomintang; Position of the Chinese government regarding the settlement of the Taiwan question.

Over the past several decades, the dichotomy between traditional and emerging donors has been based upon the notion that emerging donors (such as China) support authoritarian regimes and use foreign aid to pursue their economic interests at the expense of the poor in the recipient countries. Accordingly, Western donors, media, and scholars portray Chinese aid as non-poverty-focused. This study aims to review and analyze whether the dichotomy between traditional and emerging donors is still relevant in the current aid system and to propose a new and rigorous criterion for recategorizing donors. In terms of methodology, this study relies on secondary data, including scholarly works on traditional and emerging donors and foreign aid policy documents. Conclusions based on the research indicate that the divide between traditional donors and (re)emerging donors is becoming more ambiguous. The literature review indicates that the two donors' aids had a mixed impact and that their approaches were similar. This paper highlights the importance of developing different recategorization criteria depending on the impact of aid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By conducting discourse analysis on Chinese textual materials around 1962, this paper tries to inductively explore the national identities of Chinese people during the 1962 Sino-Indian border conflict. It finds that China perceived itself as a persistent and resilient nation in the ongoing fight against invasion and oppression. The predominant social discourse around 1962 showed a strong enmity and resistance toward the imperialism which was then imposed on India. These national identities have formed a natural response as maintaining a tough stance toward incursion and repression, and have contributed to China's resolution to defense its territory with resorting to military force, even though it might not be beneficial in terms of diplomatic relations and economic interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By conducting discourse analysis on Chinese textual materials around 1962, this paper tries to inductively explore the national identities of Chinese people during the 1962 Sino-Indian border conflict. It finds that China perceived itself as a persistent and resilient nation in the ongoing fight against invasion and oppression. The predominant social discourse around 1962 showed a strong enmity and resistance toward the imperialism which was then imposed on India. These national identities have formed a natural response as maintaining a tough stance toward incursion and repression, and have contributed to China's resolution to defense its territory with resorting to military force, even though it might not be beneficial in terms of diplomatic relations and economic interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research involving international research communities has been advocated in the field of behavior analysis (Dymond et al., 2000; Martin et al., 2016). The purpose of the present study was to report the status of behavioral research in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, in terms of number of publications, types of research, and frequency of collaboration with international researchers. Fifteen behavioral journals were selected from the list by Cooper et al. (2020). These were searched by hand to find publications conducted in or authored by researchers from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan dating from each journal's inception to December 2021. The earliest publication we found appeared in 1980 in The Psychological Record. Over the following four decades (1980–1989; 1990–1999; 2000–2009; 2010–2021), the number of publications per decade increased dramatically and continues in recent years to rise. Publications include research reports, review papers, and conceptual articles, with the majority being basic research reports published in Behavioral Processes. Approximately half the publications involve collaboration with international researchers, mostly in North America. Implications for behavioral research, practice, and policy in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How are we to understand China's decades-long sovereignty claim over Taiwan? One assumption upheld by many international relations scholars is that state behaviour will change according to a variance of polarity in the international system. Yet while China can flexibly manage its territorial issues elsewhere, its goal of unification with Taiwan has not changed despite multiple structural changes in the international system over the decades. This paper argues that historical and nationalist approaches alone do not explain China's unswaying obsession with this island. Geopolitics plays a far more prominent role in the minds of Chinese leaders than scholars have previously acknowledged. Since 1949, China has viewed Taiwan as a geopolitical buffer protecting the security of Chinese coastal areas. China's buffer thinking towards Taiwan was a significant factor in China's decisions to launch military action against Taiwan in 1954, 1958, and 1996. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bio-medical model of 'mental health' and 'mental illness' that relates to the relationship between wellbeing and distress informs psychopathology and dominates conceptualisation in many Western Educated Industrialised Rich Democratic (WEIRD) populations. This paper aims to critique the model, questioning the appropriateness of psychopathology as a conceptual framework when working as a Western trained clinician with populations such as in China, Japan, Asia, the Middle-East and Africa. The paper also considers the cultural appropriateness of western notions of psychopathology when working inter-culturally in relation to the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings, and the Review of the Implementation of the IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's interest in Afghanistan has grown substantially over the past few decades. This is evident from the fact that Logar Aynak, the copper extraction project of China, is the largest foreign investment in Afghanistan. In this paper, China's growing engagement in Afghanistan is studied, especially China's role in the aftermath of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan is examined at length. The main problems and obstacles China faces in Afghanistan are explored, and challenges and opportunities arise as a result are discussed as well. Considering China's policy of careful engagement in the region, the nature of China's growing involvement in Afghanistan is studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the strategic partnership between China and the UAE. It begins with an analysis of the concept of strategic partnership, based on the existing literature on the topic in international relations. Since there is no consensus as to the meaning of the term strategic partnership, the paper applies Thomas Wilkins's model or framework to explain the UAE's partnership with China. Wilkins is among the few to develop a conceptual framework or analytical model of the term. The paper then focuses on the foundation of the strategic partnership between the two countries, and goes on to analyze the prospects for the future of this partnership. The paper argues that although this partnership is strong, its future depends on two important factors. The first is UAE's alliance with the United States, and the second, China's relations with Iran. Driven as it is by economic considerations and a mutual desire for closer security and political cooperation, the partnership cannot, however, ignore these two important aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's vigorous involvement in the Pacific Island countries (PICs) is often surmised by scholars of international relations (Wesley-Smith 1; Pryke 2) to be primarily motivated by geopolitical calculations. This paper argues that China's increasing presence in the Pacific Islands indeed helps China create a "sphere of influence," but such geopolitical dynamics are characterized not merely by China's response to its perceived containment imposed by the USA and its allies in the region, but also by China's willingness to engage with PICs on its own terms. This is reflected in China's multifaceted approaches to offering economic assistance and expanding its economic and political presence in the region. China has increasingly cemented its strategic partnership with PICs by pursuing its traditional strategy of "non-interference" that satisfies PICs' demands for political independence and self-determination. China reaps not only economic but also geopolitical benefits from its intensified economic, and by extension, political, and strategic partnership with PICs, thus assisting its rise at the systemic (global) level. This paper examines the rationale behind China's economic and political approaches to the region and evaluates its promises and pitfalls as regional power dynamics continues to evolve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Up until the end of Cold War mainstream theories in the disciplines of International Relations and Peace Studies have overlooked the transformation in relations between actors but instead concentrated on either the constant state of conflict between units or radical changes from war to peace. Acknowledging major changes in their subject matters due to the changing conditions with the end of Cold War, both disciplines had to rethink their theoretical assumptions and renew their toolboxes. Accordingly, the constructivist turn in International Relations and the introduction of Transformational Approach to conflict in Peace Studies have brought the two disciplines closer. Similar to the Constructivist theory of International Relations that emphasizes changes rather than law-like regularities in international politics, the Conflict Transformation Approach in Peace Studies focuses on perennial transformation processes in conflicts. This paper through bringing together insights from the disciplines of International Relations and Peace Studies, analyses the cross-strait conflict between the People's Republic of China and Republic of China (Taiwan) within a constructivist framework, and from a transformational perspective by applying Hugh Miall's five-point model of conflict transformation (context transformation, structural transformation, actor transformation, issue transformation, and personal/elite transformation). Miall's five-point model is utilized in this paper to show that, despite serious crisis occurred in more than 70 years history of People's Republic of China-Republic of China conflict, the relationship of the parties has undergone a set of transformations on the way to reconciliation. Although the conflict, with serious disagreements on crucial issues, is far from being settled, the ongoing transformation creates room for negotiations and further reconciliation on issues that were previously regarded as non-negotiable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses how ideas of "race" and racial identification have, in different ways, been central in the construction of modern nation-states, both in East Asia and in postcolonial Southeast Asia, helping to entrench notions of racial difference as a fundamental element in nation-building. Processes of human racialization – and consequently, the homogenization of racialized identities and essentialization of human inequality – are thus persistent structuring devices that organize the workings of human societies. The paper focuses especially on the complex and contradictory ramifications of the racialization of "the Chinese" inside and outside of China, threatening to take on a perilous turn in the current era of China's rising global power and heightened Sinophobia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper maps out contemporary discourses of Chinese diplomacy that have proliferated under the aegis of 'major country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics'. We examine how these narratives are underpinned by webs of relationality that see China promoting equal and win–win partnerships with other state actors, yet are also defined by hierarchical premises for such diplomatic engagements. These relational contradictions are most clearly manifested when we interrogate the spatial dynamics of China's diplomatic endeavours through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). By scrutinising the geopolitical imaginations, sites and scales associated with the BRI, we turn attention to three spatial tensions that are closely bounded up with the relational contradictions of Chinese diplomacy: 'win–win' diplomacy promoting a 'harmonious world' versus territorially based diplomacy; periphery diplomacy versus the global ambitions of BRI; and the centralisation versus decentralisation dimensions of Chinese diplomacy. This allows us to make sense of the multiplicity of descriptors that have been affixed to Chinese diplomacy, in order to underscore the 'work' they perform to bequeath (at times, divergent and contested) meanings to China's new foreign policy approach. Hence, a relational and spatial understanding of Chinese diplomacy, we argue, can reveal a more nuanced picture of the promises, potential and disjunctures of China's rapidly expanding geopolitical and diplomatic actions on the international stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pakistan occupies an elevated role in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and hosts its so-called flagship project, the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Existing literature has often interpreted this project from a geopolitical perspective, as a vehicle through which a rising China projects influence on a peripheral country and advances its own centrality in international affairs. While such motivations certainly played a major role in getting the project off the ground, they are not the sole determinant of its design, or the heated controversies it triggered within Pakistan. This paper seeks to capture both dimensions by analysing the development of CPEC, and the handling of the conflicts it sparked, through a lens of overlapping centre–periphery relations: one between China and Pakistan at the international level, and one between Islamabad and peripheral regions and groups within the country. I argue that this model best captures the pivotal position and resulting agency of national governments in shaping local BRI implementations. It also shows how the BRI is not a straight case of Chinese influence radiating outwards; rather, contestation by local actors in turn forces adaptations in Chinese foreign and security policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China–Africa relations have been a topic of huge interest in international relations, as well as the subject of wide scepticism and criticism. Drummond and Liu (2013) observe that more than half of sub-Saharan African countries have a trade deficit with China and that China remains a dominant actor in China–Africa relations. However, is this so? Are African states mere spectators in China–Africa relations or do they also have a strategy to gain something from the engagement? This study examines the role that African agency plays in Sino-African relations under the FOCAC framework. It highlights the main features of Sino-African relations and specifically assesses why China is important to African states. It examines FOCAC objectives for Africa, FOCAC conferences, the decisions adopted and their impact on Sino-African relations. The paper offers recommendations that will allow African states to better leverage their relations with China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese political and economic gains in Africa have been increasing at an alarming rate. Despite the fact that some of these have been favourable, China's presence in Africa has received considerable criticism. African states have similarly responded to this Chinese trend with most of them enjoying Chinese support ranging from economic development to political involvements. These however are mostly embraced by the so-called undemocratic states. China has a core direction on how they carry out their relations with any foreign nation. This paper aims at explaining these policies and see how effective they have been for the parties involved. The article is supported by qualitative data accessed from scholarly writings, the government publishes, articles, and also from web pages. Because the subject is broad in scope, a range of challenges was encountered relating to the authenticity of the sources. Similarly, the topic is rich in content; some parts of the coexistence of the relations shared by these two regions have been left out. Much emphasis has been directed toward economic relations without leaving out the social and political aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As China grows in international importance and influence, more and more countries worry about how it will behave, and are preoccupied with the hard question of how to tame it. As a middle power Australia has sought ways to influence the thinking and behaviour of Chinese policymakers. The Australian approach to taming China represents an academically puzzling and politically intriguing case, which, unfortunately, has not been studied in detail. The paper has argued that the concept of taming offers significant intellectual advantages in its reconsideration of Australia's China policy and has called for Australian scholars and policymakers, to critically rethink unspoken and understudied Australia's taming practices and policies. To this end, this paper has proposed an experience-based theory of taming as a key research agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]