China: Liberal theory – pursuit of cooperation over competition

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Liberal theory – pursuit of cooperation over competition
China’s peripheral diplomacy chapter from a book titled Chinese Foreign Policy: An Introduction, written by Marc Lanteigne, depicts China’s diplomacy in liberal thoughts that the fundamental objective of China’s involvement in East Asia bases on regional cooperation rather than competition. Liberalism, in a political context, is one of major international relations theory that aims for peace and cooperation in international arena. Lanteigne notes that peripheral diplomacy, which prioritised on relations with Asian neighbours via a series of foreign policy initiatives, started after the Tiananmen Incident of 1989 forwarded by Jiang Zemin. The inherent principle in liberal thought reinforces regional cooperation, driven by means of economic and political stability in East Asia, in lieu of competition. Reasons for the peripheral diplomacy were contended as Beijing’s attempt to become an indispensable partner, reassuring its neighbours that China would never regress into isolation and challenge the order, as it was under Mao, for a modernized and accountable. This chapter studies country by country and its explicit involvement in regard to China’s relationship.
In the case of Japan, China concerns Japan’s recovery into the market and its persevered alliance with the United States, whilst, Japan is wary of China’s development and the possibility of Chinese hegemony in international stage. An important dispute between the two states is the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands dispute. Both states claim their sovereignty over it and faced aggressive conflicts from time to time. Above all other considerations, the most critical driving force of this dispute is economic gains. Studies suggest th...

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...k back its mistakes to learn, and to not commit the same wrongdoing again. For this reason, the future will reflect the deeds of today, and will demonstrate practical results of today’s daily positions taken in international affairs. Interestingly enough, and not surprisingly, no one is deemed to know yet, about what the future would bring to this very society by China’s contemporary actions. However, its future can serve as a useful tool, to give a more definitive and comprehensive answer, if not the most vital and conclusive, to the debate of the contrasting theories.

Works Cited

• Lanteigne, Marc. Chinese Foreign Policy: An Introduction. Oxon: Routledge, 2013.

• Manicom, James, and Andrew O’Neil. “China’s rise and middle power democracies: Canada and Australia compared.” International Relations of the Asia-Pacific 12 (2012) 199-228. doi:10.1093/irap/lcs002

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