China emerged as a major economic, diplomatic, and military power during the critical decade from 2008 to 2018. As a result, China's foreign policy has become more active and dynamic. This book provides a unique perspective to understand Chinese foreign policy during this decade by examining continuities and changes in both internal and external factors that have shaped China's development. The book focuses on key challenges in China's diplomacy such as US-China relations, the Korean Peninsula, Taiwan, Japan, India, Chinese investment overseas, the Belt and Road Initiative, global and regional cooperation, soft power, etc. It also includes an extensive annotated bibliography of major recent publications on various aspects of Chinese foreign policy. This is the first scholarly book that studies the evolution and key challenges of China's foreign relations during the critical decade (2008–2018) when China grew into a crucial, sometimes assertive, power in international affairs.
Sample Chapter(s)
Preface
Chapter 1: Chinese Foreign Policy in a Rapidly Changing World: An Introduction
Contents:
- Preface
- About the Author
- Chronology: Major Events Related to China's Foreign Relations (2000–2018)
- Part I: Overview:
- Chinese Foreign Policy in a Rapidly Changing World: An Introduction
- Chinese Foreign Policy: A Bibliographical Review
- Part II: Selected Essays on Chinese Foreign Policy (2008–2018):
- US–China Relations
- The Korean Peninsula
- China's Relations with India and Japan
- The Taiwan Issue
- Global and Regional Cooperation
- Part III: Challenges and Prospects:
- Geostrategic Challenges of the Belt and Road Initiative
- Going Global 2.0: China's Growing Investment in the West and Its Impact
- Pitfalls in China's Soft Power Promotion
- Index
Readership: Academics, professionals, policy-makers and students interested in China's foreign policy, US-China relations, the Korean Peninsula, the Belt and Road Initiative, China's soft power.
"Professor Zhiqun Zhu has built on broad expertise seen in his past authoritative studies of China and Asia to employ a comprehensive assessment of domestic and foreign determinants in evaluating the changes and continuities of Chinese foreign relations in the past decade. His wisdom and insights in A Critical Decade are a genuine service to specialists and students attempting to understand China's regional and global importance."
Robert Sutter
George Washington University
"As one of the most sensitive observers today, Professor Zhiqun Zhu provides a unique and insightful analysis of Chinese foreign policy. This study will guide the reader to a deeper level of understanding of how and why China behaves the way it does. All those who are interested in Chinese politics and foreign policy should read this book."
Zheng Yongnian
National University of Singapore
"This is one of the first comprehensive overviews of Chinese foreign policy in the decade covering the transition from Hu Jintao to Xi Jinping. It is written in a clear and accessible manner, allowing readers a sense of perspective and some important orientation of what has happened and what it all might mean."
Kerry Brown
King's College London
"Another pioneering work and meticulous study of Chinese foreign policy by top-notch China scholar Zhiqun Zhu. This is a must read for anyone who wants to learn more about China's rise as a great power and its global impact."
Swaran Singh
Jawaharlal Nehru University
"In A Critical Decade, noted scholar of Chinese foreign relations Zhiqun Zhu has compiled a number of his previous essays that collectively offer important analysis and insights into China's external relationships during the 2008-2018 period."
Prof David Shambaugh
George Washington University
"The volume demonstrates how China scholars can serve to inform and influence public debates on China and U.S-China relations."
Journal of Chinese Political Science
Zhiqun Zhu, PhD, is Professor and Chair of International Relations Department at Bucknell University, USA. He was Bucknell's inaugural Director of the China Institute (2013-2017) and MacArthur Chair in East Asian politics (2008–2014). In the early 1990s, he was Senior Assistant to Consul for Press and Cultural Affairs at the American Consulate General in Shanghai, China. Professor Zhu is a member of the National Committee on United States–China Relations and is frequently quoted by international media to comment on East Asian and Chinese affairs.
Professor Zhu's teaching and research interests include Chinese politics and foreign policy, East Asian political economy, and US–East Asian relations. He is the author or editor of over 10 books, including Understanding East Asia's Economic "Miracles" (Association for Asian Studies, 2016); China's New Diplomacy: Rationale, Strategies and Significance (Ashgate, 2013); New Dynamics in East Asian Politics: Security, Political Economy, and Society (Continuum International, 2012); and US–China Relations in the 21st Century: Power Transition and Peace (Routledge, 2005).
Professor Zhu has received several research fellowships and grants, including two POSCO fellowships at the East–West Center in Hawaii; a Korea Foundation/Freeman Foundation grant to do research in Korea; two visiting fellowships at the East Asian Institute of National University of Singapore; visiting professorships at Doshisha University in Japan, Kyungpook National University in Korea, and Shanghai University in China; and a research grant from the American Political Science Association.
