Introduction.

This paper introduces a special section (in two parts) bridging the study areas of borderland studies and foreign relations contextualizing China. The four other papers in this special section cover China's northeast, northwest and southwest. They offer comprehensive and updated analyses of the ways in which Chinese leaders conceive the issues of the borderlands, which have implications for China's international relations. Meanwhile, the response of Chinese leaders to the challenges arising from the borderlands will be examined. The issues discussed include: sovereignty, state security, energy and resource exploration (the paper on Xinjiang by Yufang Hao and Weihua Liu); the disputes over the interpretation of regional history (the paper on China's northeast by Dingding Chen); online public opinions of China–North Korea relations (the paper by Simon Shen); and regional integration and development (the paper on Yunnan by Tim Summers). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]