Editor’s Note

This New Year issue marks the 21st birthday of Contemporary International Relations,the English journal of CICIR.Its growth from an infant into an adult has benefited from the engaged feedback of our readers.Thus our heart-felt thanks go out to all of you for your support and favorable comments during these years,and,hopefully,your continuing patronage in the future.     

Highlights of CAFIU’s International Exchanges

(1)December 11-16,at the invitation of CAFIU,Prof. Abbas Milani,Director of the Iranian Studies Program of Stanford University of USA and Co-Director of the Iran Democracy Project of Hoover Institution visited China. In Beijing,Mr. Zhang Zhijun,CAFIU Advisor and Vice-Minister of the International Department of CPC Central Committee met with him.     

Editor’s Note

正This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Shanghai Communiqué. In his article contributed to this issue that is entitled"Firmly Promote the China-U.S.Cooperative Partnership",Vice Foreign     

Geo-religion and China’s Foreign Strategies

The intertwining and extensive interactions between geopolitical, international economic and geo-religious factors have become the major features of geoborderilogy in the 21st century. The essence of geo-religion lies in the discursive power and the power of persuasion to influence popular views. With the globalization of China’s national interests and the comprehensive implementation of China’s "go global" strategy, religion should play its due role in China’s global foreign strategies.     

EU’s Role in Power Relations

Power tradeoffs always change the pattern of relations between big powers. Because of the shrinking gap between powers and the relative decline of the U.S.’supreme strength, changes have emerged. Traditional alliances persist and there is no absolute hostility. Issue-focused cooperation has prevailed and governments     

International System and China’s Asia-Pacific Strategy

What impact does a shift in the global distribution of power have on the international order? According to the views of traditional realists,power transitions in the international order are usually accompanied by major wars,the best example being the two world wars of the twentieth century.China’s peaceful rise is conducive to the peace and stability of Asia and Pacific regions.The steady rise of China’s position and its role in dealing with international and regional problems have proved China’s success in...     

A Study of China’s National Security System

In order to address the increasingly complicated and volatile security situation at home and abroad, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has put forward clear strategic requirements “to improve the national security system” and taken as its general goal “to institute a centralized, unifi ed, effi cient and authoritative national security system,” which gives full expression to the important position of a national security system in the work of national security. China’s national security system refers to the sum total of the specifi c institutions and codes of conduct for the administration of national security and is aimed at providing institutional support to ensure that China is a secure state and has the capacity to remain so. The division of functions of national security, the administration system of state security organs, the management system of human resources for national security, the power-responsibility mechanism and legal guarantees are the essential elements that constitute China’s national security system. We can clearly understand the characteristics of China’s national security system in different periods and trace its development by studying its history. Besides, we must be fully aware that such problems as insufficient research into the national security system, unclear division of the functions of national security, lack of strength in the building of state security organs, and a lag in the construction of the legal system concerning national security, inhibit the full functionality of China’s national security system. If these problems are not solved in a timely manner, China will have diffi culty resolving the various challenges to its national security. Therefore, the most effective ways to improve China’s national security system are: to defi ne in a scientifi c and rational style the functions of China’s national security at the present stage, give full rein to the powers of the National Security Committee of the CPC Central Committee; and forge a high-quality national security force.     

Highlights of CAFIU’s International Exchanges

(From December 2008 to February 2009)December 2008 (1) December 4, CAFIU Secretary-General Mr. Xu Jianguo met with Mr. Nenad Gli , Minister Counsellor of the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in Beijing. (2) December 6-16, at the invitation of Germany Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and Czech-China Association,     

On China’s Marine Safety

The rising incidence of Somalian and Malaccan piracy has sounded an alarm bell for countries around the world. In order to ensure the safety of global shipping lanes, at least in the short term, it is necessary for countries to unite to combat these pirates. However, dealing with pirate     

Highlights of CAFIU’s International Exchanges

March (1) March 1 and 14, CAFIU Secretary-General Mr. Xu Jianguo met with Mr. Li Beihua, Member of Czech-China Association. (2) March 12-14, at the invitation of CAFIU, Mr. Kushihara Yoshinao, former Member of the House of Representatives of Japan and others visited Beijing. CAFIU Advisor Mr. Liu Deyou met with them. CAFIU Secretary-General Mr. Xu Jianguo held discussions with the guests.     

On Obama’s Asia-Pacific Strategy

In 2011, there were three new developments in Northeast Asia: the much heralded return of the U.S. to the Asia-Pacific region; newly-growing tensions in the South China Sea;     

Contradictions in the TrumpAdministration’s Russia Policy

Since President Donald Trump took office,the United States’policy toward Russia has experienced upswings and downturns,oscillating between opposite sides and demonstrating starker contradictions.An in-depth study of the Trump administration’s Russia policy will assist in deepening our knowledge and understanding of the nature of USRussia relations,so that we can better grasp the development trend of the relationship and provide a useful reference for China to more proactively handle its own relations with other major powers.     

China’s National Security Strategy

China has set four goals in its national security strategy in the coming decade. These are focused on safeguarding 1) sovereignty, security and territorial integrity; 2) the socialist system and related core values; 3) development interests by sustaining the current period of strategic opportunity in avoidance of unnecessary distractions; and finally 4) regional and world peace.     

Highlights of CAFIU’s International Exchanges in 2013

正January January 4,Secretary-General Ni Jian met with Teruo Tsuneda,Executive Director of the Mainichi Shimbun of Japan and Katsuyoshi Seimiya,Director of Global Business Division of the Mainichi Shimbun.The two sides exchanged views on China’s political and economic situation after the 18thNational Congress of CPC and Japan’s political situation after the general election.     

The EU’s Foreign Policy Under Debt Crisis

Under the impact of the sovereign debt crisis, the European Union pays less attention to its foreign policy and the Common Foreign Policy tends to be "renationalized"; the EU is again embracing "geo-economics" with an enhanced tendency of highlighting economic ties and trade in its external relations; EU countries have greatly cut their defence expenditures, making it more difficult to implement the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) in future. The author holds that the prospects of economic growth in the Eurozone countries, European integration under the pressure of structural changes in international relations, and competition and collaboration in a multiple structure of foreign policy establishments are combined to shape the EU’s foreign policy in the coming years.     

China’s Employment Situation and Policy

Employment constitutes the basis of people’s living and the means to ensure the stability of a country as well. Realizing relatively full employment is the important prerequisite and basic way to improve people's life. Being the most populous country in the world, China has abundant labor resources and faces an arduous and urgent task to tackle the employment problem. Therefore, providing more employment is a major issue directly bearing on people's living that China will have to face for a long time.     

On China’s Export Control Policy

Export control means that a country or a number of countries limit and prohibit the export of certain materials and technologies by administrative and legal means so as to achieve specific political, military and economic purposes. The main targets of export control are military materials and technologies as well as other strategically sensitive materials. With the     

Impediments to Abe’s Proposal to Cast off Japan’s Postwar System

A fundamental change in Japanese politics means that neo-conservatives now are meeting fewer obstacles. The wide margin enjoyed by the Liberal Democratic Party led by Shinzo Abe in Japan＇ s July 2013 election for the upper house （House of Councillors） was a second resounding victory for the LDP,     

Recognizing the Global Economic Order’s Restraint on China’s Peaceful Development

China’s economy has soared to be world’s second largest, while its peaceful rise has been increasingly constrained by the global economic order. Regionally, directed by the U.S.’s rebalancing policy in Asia, the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) is changing the direction of economic cooperation in Asia.     

The Evolution of China’s Security Challenges and Grand Strategy

This article examines changes in China’s security perceptions since 1949 and sketches the evolution of China’s grand strategy. In tracing the evolution of China’s security perceptions and grand strategy since 1949, it identifies elements of change as well as continuity. The changes reflect dramatic developments in the PRC’s capabilities and the international circumstances it faces, both of which have shaped the grand strategic choices of China’s leaders. During most of the Cold War decades, a relatively weak China’s vulnerability to serious military threats from much more powerful adversaries led the CCP to adopt grand strategies focused on coping with a clearly defined external security challenge. After the Cold War and especially in the 21st century, an increasingly complex array of internal and external security concerns confronts China’s leaders with new challenges. The paper concludes with a discussion of the significance of the recently established National Security Commission and offers brief observations about its potential significance for the CCP’s leadership in their fight against the new domestic and international security challenges it faces. The novelty of China’s security challenges at home and abroad in the 21st century is a consequence of the end of the Cold War international order and perhaps more importantly, a consequence of China’s successful modernization since 1979.