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By Shannon Tiezzi
China trades U.S. relations for ‘peripheral diplomacy’ in its foreign policy priority list.
China has moved from a focus on “great power” diplomacy – emphasizing its relationship with global powers, especially the U.S. – to prioritizing “neighborhood diplomacy” – China’s relationships with its neighbors and near neighbors. That shift, which has been slowly transforming China’s foreign policy since Xi Jinping came to power, has major ramifications for the Asia-Pacific, as well as U.S.-China relations.
Historically, scholars have seen China as placing a premium on the U.S.-China relationship. Getting that relationship right was the “key of keys” (重中之重) for Chinese foreign policy as a whole. It’s no coincidence that Xi took a trip to the U.S. in February 2012 to prove his bona fides before assuming China’s top leadership position. And during that trip, Xi coined his first major catchphrase. Before the “Belt and Road,” before even the “China Dream,” Xi put his stamp on Chinese policy by proposing “new type of major country relations.” The phrase has dominated Chinese rhetoric on the relationship ever since. In December 2013, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi declared that China’s diplomatic priority for 2014 would be advancing “new type of major country relationships.”
How much has changed in one year. For 2015, China has instead announced that its top foreign policy priority is advancing the Silk Road Economic Belt and Maritime Silk Road (the “Belt and Road”), China’s vision for regional integration. Rather than emphasizing “great power relations,” China is focusing its energy on advancing economic, cultural, and security ties with its Asian neighbors.
Read the full story at The Diplomat