China's Global Strategy Under Xi Jinping

By (author) Tsang, Steve; By (author) Cheung, Olivia
Description:
A powerful analysis of China''s bid for global pre-eminence and what it means for the future of international politics. Xi Jinping''s pledge to achieve "the China Dream of national rejuvenation" by 2050 captures the ambition driving China''s current global strategy. While the phrase may be characteristically vague, its implications are far-reaching--shaping how Chinese leaders engage with the world and envision China''s place within it. In China''s Global Strategy under Xi Jinping, Steve Tsang and Olivia Cheung offer a clear and compelling account of how China is seeking to reshape the international order on its own terms. Drawing on decades of political evolution, they introduce a powerful new framework--Sino-centric party-state realism--to explain the ideological, political, and strategic logic behind China''s foreign policy under Xi. The authors apply this framework across three key domains: global diplomacy, technology and the economy, and geopolitics. At the heart of Xi''s vision is a revival of the ancient tianxia model of global leadership, in which China becomes the world''s pre-eminent power--not by replacing the United States as global hegemon, but by being widely embraced as a force for good. This model suggests a relatively passive form of leadership, yet one that still aims to fundamentally reshape global norms and institutions. Tsang and Cheung also examine the internal drivers of this strategy, showing how domestic political imperatives and party ideology shape China''s external behavior. The result is a nuanced and timely analysis of a rising power with global ambitions--and the potential for great power conflict. Essential reading for anyone seeking to understand China''s evolving role in world affairs, this book offers a vital lens on one of the most consequential geopolitical shifts of our time.
Table of contents:
Dedication Illustrations Preface Abbreviations Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: China''s Global Strategy under Xi Chapter 3: Analytical Framework: Sino-centric Party-state Realism Chapter 4: Making China''s Foreign Policy Chapter 5: Tianxia: An Alternative International Order Chapter 6: Instrumentalist Approach to Reshaping the International System Chapter 7: Instrumentalist Approach to Global Economic Engagement Chapter 8: Sino-centric Party-state Realism at work: Taiwan and the Ukraine War Chapter 9: Strength and Weaknesses of China''s Global Strategy Postscript (by Steve Tsang) Notes Bibliography Index
Review quote:
In this masterful treatment the authors present a convincing portrait of Xi Jinping as a transformational leader who has replaced Deng Xiaoping''s cautious approach to international relations with a Sino-centric party-state paradigm that will transform the liberal world order in China''s image. Limiting the effectiveness of Xi''s strategy, they argue, is the reality that, although many states are not troubled by China''s vision of multi-polarity as a path to its global pre-eminence, they are concerned that they may become collateral damage in Xi''s ratcheting up of military intimidation.
Review quote:
Constructing a powerful analytical framework of ''Sino-centric Party-state Realism,'' Tsang and Cheung have performed in this book an outstanding scholarship to bridge China studies and theories of international relations, and to enrich both fields with in-depth and nuanced understanding of the making of Chinese foreign policy particularly China''s global strategy.
Review quote:
A thought-provoking deep dive into Xi Jinping''s worldview and China''s elaborate efforts to reshape global norms, institutions, and procedures. Tsang and Cheung decode opaque Chinese narratives and describe Beijing''s various international initiatives-which expose the new Sinocentric world order that Xi and the Chinese Communist regime are meticulously build