China and the Pacific Island Countries

Since formal diplomatic relations between China and Fiji were established in 1975, China has gradually developed its bilateral and multilateral relations with the Pacific islands countries （PICs）. Especially in recent years, China has deepened its involvement in the South Pacific, and its influence in the region has been growing rapidly. Today, China appears to be one of the major players in the South Pacific region. This increased Chinese engagement has drawn wide attention in academic and political circles. While some scholars and analysts take a positive view of such an engagement, others are concerned about the rising presence of China in the region. Is China＇s engagement with the South Pacific a new strategic threat or not？ This paper will examine the major motives underlying China＇s engagement with the South Pacific and analyze the implications of China＇s engagement for the PICs and Australia.     

China''s Military Diplomacy

Since the end of the Cold War, China＇s military diplomacy has displayed an omni-directional and multi-level form, and with an increasing transparency which has increased trust and reduced doubt. China has enhanced its conventional military functions and strengthened its military soft power. This has helped China develop into a responsible state on the world stage. Through military exchanges with other countries, the Chinese military has gradually strengthened its ability to undertake a variety of tasks. The Chinese military has to make greater efforts to counter the perception of a ＂China threat.＂ There is also a need to establish a system of military spokesmen and to develop a theory of military diplomacy with Chinese characteristics.     

An Overall Review of the International Situation In the 2nd Quarter of 2005

I. The U.S. paid more attention to the rising ofChina, deliberately strengthened the position ofJapan in its global strategy, and increased itspenetration in the Middle East and in theCommonwealth of Independent States (CIS).The U.S. regarded it as a most serious challenge todeal with the risingofChina and was makingread-justment ofitspolicies toward China, with a possibletendency of getting tough with it. The U.S. exag-gerated "the rising of China " and spread its theo-ry of "China's …     

Evolvement of New China＇s Relations with Other Developing Countries

China＇s relationship with other developing countries is an important basis for China＇s foreign strategy. Since its founding, New China has accumulated complex experience and achieved rich fruits in how to handle and develop its relations with other developing countries. It has experienced contradictions between ideology and national identity and also made strenuous efforts to safeguard the country＇s strategic independence. Since the introduction of the reform and opening-up policy, China has rapidly enhanced its national strength, providing a new platform for it to play a greater role in the current international system. But China＇s identity as a developing country remains the starting point of its foreign strategy, and hence promoting and consolidating its relationship with other developing countries will also remain as China＇s strategic choice.     

Thirty Years of China＇s Diplomacy： Trajectory and Challenges Ahead

The 60 years since the birth of New China can be divided into two equal parts with the second 30 years of Chinese diplomacy reflecting tremendous changes in the country and its society. And its central task in this period boils down to building a peaceful external environment for the domestic modernization drive. In the process, based on independence and the world-known Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence, taking shape is a diplomatic strategy that is both all-directional in scope and rich in Chinese characteristics. Since the advent of the 21st century, the country has defined four areas of focus in its diplomacy and put forward the watchword of ＂peaceful development.＂ Looking ahead, China is facing new challenges in its diplomacy of how to preserve harmonious relations with the outside world and set up a Chinese model reflecting its own core values, thereby investing with it greater international appeal and value of universal application.     

Bring into Full Play the Role of Youth in the Arena of Public Diplomacy

正With its rapid social and economic development since the reform and opening up,China has been witnessing more and more diversified exchange and interactions with the rest of the world with unprecedented scale,extent,frequency and intensity,and the national interest of China has spread to all over the world.With more and more foreigners coming to China,the number of Chinese     

China Needs a New Diplomatic Focus

Thanks to an improved external environment and a growing national strength,conditions are ripe for China to shift the focus of its foreign policy from politics/security to the economy.In the long term,China should concentrate solely on becoming a global economic power and not dilute its strategic resources in the pursuit of unrealistic political/security goals.Meanwhile,China should redirect its foreign policy away from the U.S.-led West and towards the developing world.These readjustments should be made according to the distribution of its diplomatic resources,makeup of its diplomatic personnel and with the aim of broadening their horizons and improving their work methods.     

Summary of Major Issues in China''''s Foreign Relations in 2006

In 2006,China carried on with its all-round diplomacy by seizing opportunities and properly handling challenges,with new developments made in the theories and practices of its diplomacy and commendable achievements scored in its work of external relations.     

The Dual Situations of China-U.S. Relations

In recent years, the U.S. administration is, out of its capability and interests, more and more inclined to accept, to a greater extent and from a long-term perspective, a realistic trend that China is rising to one of the world leading powers in a peaceful way. Accordingly, it is continuing its military containment against China, increasing its trade protectionism toward China and stepping up its diplomatic rivalry with China.     

英文摘要

Maritime Security in the Indian Ocean and China＇s Strategy Shi Chunlin The maritime routes of the Indian Ocean are of critical importance to China given perceived seurity threat in this region and China＇s increasing relevance of intersts. There comes to be a strategic imperative for China to step in efforts to gain a credible security reassurance in terms of substantial China＇s overseas energy shipments and its increasing sense of insecurity caused by the emerging conflict of interests with other powers. The author believes that China would have a better capacity to cope with any potential crisis or emergencies given defining its proactive countermeasures and taking calibrated but result--oriented operation.     

China＇s Diplomacy： New Trends and New Characteristics

In the 60 years since the founding of the People＇s Republic of China, the country has pursued a peace-oriented foreign policy. After the end of the Beijing Olympics in October 2008, China＇s foreign relations began to take on a new look. The country now participates more actively in global and regional issues, forging multilateral and bilateral relationships, and entering into discussions on maritime rights and military strategy. It could be said that China is now showing more initiative, independence, confidence, transparency and a greater sense of responsibility, and strengthening cooperation with all partners. These changes are mainly due to China＇s increasing comprehensive national strength and its need to integrate into the international system in a peaceful and harmonious manner with benefits to all. China has redefined its identity and reassessed its interests. These changes are ongoing, and the nation＇s diplomacy is still not perfect, but the general direction has now been set.     

Securing the New Silk Road

The renewed Chinese ambitions to develop trade along the different branches of the Silk Road bring several new traditional and non-traditional security challenges. The Chinese government has vowed to address them with new security concepts. Yet, these concepts might not be adequate to advance China’s security interests. Moreover, China seems to have difficulties overcoming the contradictions between different security interests: the quest for prosperity and the safeguarding of security; China’s economic aspirations and their consequence of becoming the largest economy; peaceful development and unification with Taiwan and the regain of lost territories; and the dilemma in the guiding diplomatic principles. As a result of these contradictions, Europe faces three uncertainties: How will the tensions in the Pacific develop? How will China seek to defend its interests along the New Silk Road? How will the tensions in the Pacific affect China’s behavior in the common Eurafrasian interface? These uncertainties bring about two more strategic choices for Europe: trying to continue its work with China along the Silk Road and balancing; prioritizing the huge challenges in the wedge of hardship and Europe’s immediate neighbourhood and responding calls to join the United States in its rebalancing to the Pacific. This will make it difficult to establish meaningful cooperation and to work towards burden sharing with the European Union at the other end of the Silk Road.     

The Core of China＇s Model

＂China＇s Model＂ is the outcome of China＇s political and economic development since China＇s reform and opening up and the globalization trend. It can be described as a dynamic framework of ＂One body with two wings＂, with Chinese Marxism as its core of guiding principles, and the interrelated spheres of political and economic development the two ＂wings＂ which grow from it. China＇s Model is not static, but the product of a continuous process of development. It represents a unity of opposites, blending national characteristics and international features.     

Are China and Russia Axis or Partners?

After experiencing many ups and downs in their relationship, China and Russia have forged a strategic partnership since the advent of the 21stcentury.While Russia's relations with the United States and the European Union have hit a rough patch, its ties with China are on an upward trend.Meanwhile, the United States and Europe are closely watching the two big neighbors in case of the event of a creation of an anti-Western "axis."Grounded in an analysis of the unique advantages of China-Russia relations, this paper argues that the two countries have established a high level of political trust and will continue to work in concert on all fronts.It also looks back at how China entered into alliances throughout its history and the lessons it has learned from those experiences.It emphasizes that China does not deem the establishment of exclusive alliances or political blocs as a foreign policy option.     

A Norm-Taker or a Norm-Maker？ China＇s ODA in Southeast Asia

As China expands its official development assistance (ODA) in Southeast Asia,is Chinese aid beginning to emulate international norms and practices or instead establishing its own distinct approach to development assistance? This essay argues that China’s socialization into international norms varies with the thickness of the institutional environment. In Cambodia and Laos,China’s aid program shows signs of alignment with international aid practices. At the regional level,however,China is beginning to act more like a norm-maker. Through expanding its financial support for select regional initiatives,Beijing is bolstering its ability to shape the norms and practices of regional developmental institutions. China’s rising ODA in Southeast Asia poses a potential challenge to Australia’s influence in the region,but also provides opportunities for greater diplomatic engagement and cooperation in support of regional development.     

The Prospect of Sino-US Maritime Conflict and Cooperation

Oceans provide an important arena for the United States to implement its global strategies. Therefore, maintaining absolute control of oceans builds the core of US geopolitical strategies.1 Since the beginning of the 21st Century, with the rapid growth of China＇s sea power and intensification of disputes between China and its neighboring countries over maritime rights and interests, the United States has been making greater efforts to contain and deter China at sea. This inevitably exasperated the conflict between the two countries. However, the conflict between China and the United States at sea is different from the Cold War type of confrontation between the United States and former Soviet Union, because there still exist broad spaces for cooperation between the two countries.     

Reform and Opening Up Versus Adjustment of China＇s Relations with Other Developing Countries

China＇s relations with other developing countries, an important component part and the foundation of its foreign policy, comprises two major dimensions： One, it has been the tradition of China＇s foreign affairs to promote relations with other developing countries. This tradition constitutes an extremely important basis of its foreign relations because China, a major member of the developing world, has had a similar destiny like the vast number of developing countries.     

Value and Politics of China and Russia

The 17th National Congress stressed that the Party must keep to the path of political development under socialism with Chinese characteristics. Since the introduction of the reform and opening up policy, China＇s economy has developed quickly, supplementing its political construction. Progress in the economy and political development have raised China＇s confidence and made the Chinese system more attractive to the rest of the world. Though China＇s political development has been achieved under the correct democratic development viewpoint, difficulties may yet arise, and China may need to look outside to other political achievements; importantly, China has the confidence and determination to make its political development harmonious, orderly and effective.     

Strategic Planning for Its Neighboring Diplomacy

Since security on the periphery is vital to a country’s overall security,China’s considerations of its peripheral areas have remained among the four pillars of its diplomacy,the others being big power,developing country,and multilateralism.With the establishment of the P.R.C.and the Cold War,past relations with neighboring countries were stormy,with policies toward some involving confrontation,even armed clashes.The Cold War’s end and China’s growing comprehensive power have affected security in peripheral areas and the power structure in neighboring countries,increasing the pressure for timely adjustment and reform of diplomatic strategy.Efforts were discernable during the CPC Central     

New Developments in China＇s Relations with Neighboring Countries

China has vast land and water territories, with 22,000km border line and 18,000km coastal line. Bordering 14 countries, China is also a country with the most neighboring countries in the world. Harmony with neighbors leads to peaceful surrounding environment--an important prerequisite for China＇s domestic economic building. Therefore, China always puts developing good-neighborly relations as the priority of its foreign policy.