INTRODUCTION China’s Foreign Policy Since 1949: Continuity and Change by Kevin G. Cai explores the significant transformations China has undergone under the Chinese Communist Party, as well as its foreign policy as a whole. Using an analytical framework based on Waltz’s three-level international relations theory, realism, and constructivism, the author examines how China’s foreign policy since 1949 has been influenced by multiple factors at the international, state, and individual levels, each shaping Chinese foreign policy in its own way. China’s socio-political environment, power, philosophical traditions, historical experience, and communist ideology are conditioning factors that influence its foreign policy. These factors shape the physical conditions, power foundation, and parameters of Chinese foreign policy. The determining factors are the national/core interests as defined by the Chinese Communist state, as well as the character traits and leadership styles of individual Communist leaders. China’s philosophical traditions, long historical experience, and communist ideology are other key determining factors. These factors directly establish the direction and particular goals of China’s foreign policy and how those goals are pursued and achieved.
This work highlights China’s consistent foreign policy pattern over the past seven decades, revealing a persistent pattern of continuity and change, reflected in its major objectives, approaches, key elements, driving forces, and relations with superpowers. The continuity is evident in Beijing’s foreign policy objectives since 1949. However, China’s foreign policy has undergone significant changes over time, reflecting domestic and external conditions. These changes are evident in its specific missions, national security, economic, international security, and multilateralism policies, illustrating a pattern of both continuity and change. Specifically, after constructing an analytical framework to explain Chinese foreign policy, the work studies the following six topics: Chinese foreign policy-making, the evolution of Chinese foreign policy since 1949, Chinese national security strategy, Chinese international security policy, foreign economic policy, and Chinese multilateralism policy.
Since 1949, Chinese foreign policy has evolved through three major phases: the Mao era (1949-1979), Deng’s influence (1979-2009), and Xi’s leadership (2009-present). Despite some specific differences between each phase, Chinese Communist leaders have followed seven common foreign policies. These include securing the country’s political system, maintaining state sovereignty, safeguarding national security, preserving territorial integrity, achieving national unification with Taiwan, and keeping Tibet, Hong Kong, and Xinjiang as integral parts of China. Other goals include ensuring sustained economic development and enhancing China’s international position. In this process, several major trends in the evolution of Chinese foreign policy are clearly visible. The author notes that over the past 70 years, Chinese foreign policy has moved from being primarily driven by ideology to being more practical, from isolationist to actively engaging, from antagonistic and confrontational to conciliatory and cooperative, from one-dimensional (primarily concerned with national security) to multidimensional (concerned with a broad range of issues, including national and international security, the global economy, development, the environment, and others), and from unilateral to multilateral. While Chinese foreign policy has evolved over time, the process of foreign policy-making has also gradually transformed. During the Mao era, foreign policy decisions were primarily made by Mao himself, based on his personal intuition and ideological orientation. In the post-Mao era, however, the process of foreign policy-making has gradually been institutionalized, particularly since the 1990s, involving a growing number of actors, although final decisions on foreign policy, especially those of strategic importance, are still made by top Communist leaders. Meanwhile, think tanks have played an increasingly important role in foreign policy-making by providing Communist leaders and foreign policy bodies with professional advice, analysis, and policy recommendations. Moreover, as Chinese society has become more pluralistic and liberalized due to economic reforms, Chinese foreign policy has also been increasingly influenced by domestic interest groups, media, and public opinion in the post-Mao era. As a result, the process of foreign policy-making has become much more complex than it was during the Mao era.
As the author mentions, Chinese foreign policy is shaped by how the Chinese leadership perceives external threats. This is particularly true of China’s national security strategy, as from the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), China has had to face difficult choices in assessing external threats and devising a suitable national security strategy. Despite its perception of being threatened from all directions geographically, from the beginning of the PRC, Beijing has focused on its relationship with one of the superpowers for the sake of national security, believing that the U.S. and the Soviet Union were the only major threats. Even China’s conflicts with neighboring countries were considered threats only if they were supported by Washington or Moscow. The author also discusses how China’s national security strategy, which involves both political and military components, is profoundly influenced by the nation’s geography, demography, history, ideology, and culture. These factors can be grouped into three main sources: geography, ideology, and culture.
In terms of China’s international security policy, the author discusses how, since 1949, China’s foreign policy has evolved. From non-participation in multilateral security initiatives in the 1950s-1970s to increasing involvement in multilateral cooperation in various areas of international security from the 1980s onward, China’s foreign policy has followed a trajectory of gradual integration into the global community. During this period, China has been increasingly engaged in multilateral operations related to global security sectors, particularly military/security confidence-building measures (CBMs) and the control and disarmament of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). China has designed its foreign security policy to enhance its national security objectives, much like its national security strategy.
Similar changes have occurred in China’s foreign economic policy over time. It is especially important to highlight that Chinese foreign economic policy has, throughout, been directly influenced by the country’s economic structure in addition to being a key component of China’s broader foreign policy. Since the late 1970s, Chinese foreign economic policy has undergone a major change, reflecting both the post-Mao adjustment of Chinese foreign policy and the systemic transformation of the Chinese economy from Mao’s “lean to one side” policy to Deng Xiaoping’s economic reforms. Since 1978, Chinese foreign policy has been heavily focused on the economy. One of the most important components of these reforms was the opening of the country to foreign direct investment (FDI). The author discusses how post-Mao leaders believed that FDI was the most convenient and effective way for China to acquire foreign capital, technology, equipment, and know-how to industrialize and modernize its economy and catch up with developed countries. FDI has therefore become a central element of China’s broader foreign policy.
Regarding China’s multilateralism policy, the author examines how China has increasingly engaged with multilateral organizations and initiatives over the years, even though Communist China was isolated from the mainstream multilateral system from the 1950s to the 1970s. The author explores China’s motivations behind this approach and how it aligns with its broader foreign policy objectives. Kevin also highlights China’s participation in organizations like the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, and regional forums such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). He examines China’s role in shaping the rules and norms within these institutions and its efforts to promote its own interests while contributing to global governance. Additionally, the author explores China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and its impact on Chinese multilateralism. He discusses how the BRI has provided an avenue for China to strengthen its economic ties with partner countries and enhance its global influence.
CONCLUSION According to the book, there have been three major periods in the development of Chinese foreign policy since 1949: Mao’s “Chinese Diplomacy,” Deng’s “Chinese Diplomacy,” and Xi’s “Chinese Diplomacy.” The missions of Chinese foreign policy during each of these three periods have clearly changed due to drastic differences in internal and external circumstances. Under Mao, Chinese foreign policy was primarily focused on ensuring the security and survival of the newly established Communist state. Under Deng, Chinese foreign policy was primarily aimed at achieving rapid economic development and modernization. Under Xi’s leadership, Chinese foreign policy is currently focused on revitalizing the Chinese nation and reestablishing China as a global power in the context of rising Chinese influence. While China’s fundamental foreign policy principles have not changed significantly since 1949, the focus of the policy has unmistakably shifted in response to changing domestic and international circumstances. This book offers valuable insights into China’s foreign policy, but I believe it could benefit from a broader range of perspectives, such as including viewpoints from Chinese scholars or policymakers who could offer a more well-rounded analysis. This would provide a deeper understanding of the motivations and rationale behind China’s actions on the global stage. Additionally, the author could provide a more balanced examination of the positive and negative aspects of China’s engagement with multilateral organizations, as the book tends to lean more towards a positive portrayal of China’s role in global governance, potentially overlooking some of the challenges and criticisms associated with its actions.
This book review by Kalsang Dolma on CHINA’S FOREIGN POLICY SINCE 1949: CONTINUITY AND CHANGE, is posted here as per the submission by the writer. The writer is not a research fellow at Tibet Policy Institute or currently working at the Institute. She is a Research Intern at the Centre for Chinese Analysis and strategy. The views expressed here do not reflect or represent the view of Tibet Policy Institute.
By Kalsang Dolma