By Dingding Chen
In 20 years, this group of scholars will shape China’s foreign policy.
As China’s power and status continue to grow, the big question for the whole world is how Beijing will use its newly acquired power to influence the world. It is safe to say that nobody within China has a satisfactory answer to this question. Still, we should pay serious attention to what Chinese scholars themselves say about China’s future ambitions. After all, outsiders often do not possess the necessary internal knowledge about China to depict an accurate picture of the country’s ambitions and foreign policy.
Within the field of Chinese foreign policy, the current generation of prominent international relations (IR) scholars — including Wang Jisi, Qin Yaqing, Yan Xuetong, Shi Yinhong, Wang Yizhou and others — have made great contributions to ameliorating the understanding of China internationally. But there will soon be a new generation of Chinese IR scholars who will likely shape the main debates that will come to guide Chinese foreign policy. It is time now to pay equal attention to them if we hope for a smooth relationship between China and the world.
By surveying some senior scholars in Chinese foreign policy, I have complied a list of the top 10 young IR scholars in China today. They are (in alphabetical order): Chen Yudan (Fudan University), Chen Zheng (Shanghai Jiaotong University), Li Wei (Renmin University), Lin Minwang (Foreign Affairs College), Liu Feng (Nankai University), Mao Weizhun (Nanjing University), Ren Lin (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences), Yang Yuan (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences), Yin Jiwu (Beijing Foreign Studies University), and Zuo Xiying (Renmin University).
These scholars represent a diverse group with very different research interests and theoretical backgrounds. Their analyses of and recommendations for Chinese foreign policy, therefore, also vary.
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