China's diplomacy in transition
- By An Gang
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E-mail Beijing Review, December 30, 2013
A new relationship
On December 4, 2013, visiting U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden and President Xi held talks for nearly five hours. This was the first high-ranking meeting between the two sides after the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee was held back in November.
During Biden's China trip, he spent most of his time exchanging opinions with Chinese leaders over China's reform after the important third plenary session and the Sino-U.S. relationship. The two sides agreed on expanding dialogues, communication and cooperation to jointly push forward the establishment of a new form of relationship between great powers.
Building a new type of relationship between China and the United States is an idea that has been advocated by President Xi since he assumed presidency. The core of this concept is to get rid of the historical notion of inevitable confrontation between the existing dominant power and a rising power, and to form a relationship based on mutual respect, mutual benefit and win-win outcomes. Xi and his U.S. counterpart Obama broke the traditional communication mode between state heads and met in a casual atmosphere in California in early June 2013. They reached consensus on jointly building a new type of relationship between the countries after more than eight hours of discussion.
Xi's California trip, which was greatly applauded at home and abroad, was considered as the signpost to an active approach in China's diplomacy. This is part of the new Chinese leadership's multi-faceted diplomacy.
Neighborhood policies
Relationships with great powers and neighboring countries are the most important elements of China's new diplomatic layout.
To China, Russia has a dual identity as great power and neighbor. Xi chose Russia as the first leg of his first overseas visit as Chinese president in March 2013. This arrangement was interpreted as an attempt to strengthen China's strategic position in the north, and to ease its pressure in the seas to the east. Xi's visit deepened the China-Russia strategic partnership, and strengthened the two sides' common will in pushing forward for a multipolar world. The visit witnessed the signing of a large number of major cooperative agreements on trade, energy, the military industry and aviation.
By December 2013, President Xi had conducted four foreign visits, and Premier Li Keqiang three. They paid visits to 22 countries, including 12 neighbors. Four of the six multilateral summits they participated in were related to regional cooperation in the neighborhood. In 2013, China's relationships and partnerships with neighboring countries, including ASEAN members, Shanghai Cooperation Organization members, India and Pakistan, were greatly enhanced, and their cooperation in trade, finance, energy, security, transportation and culture made great progress.
The CPC Central Committee held a work forum on neighborhood diplomacy in October 2013. Xi pointed out that the neighboring area is of extreme strategic importance to China, and China must be more active in conducting neighborhood diplomacy. He emphasized the policies of "building friendship and partnership with neighboring countries" and "building a community of common interests in the neighborhood."
Relations with Japan and the Philippines were exceptions in the region. The two countries' relationships with China were full of confrontations in 2013 because of their intention of highlighting territorial and maritime disputes. Frictions between China and Japan are more like a geo-strategic competition. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took a provocative stance in the disputes between China and Japan, so as to build a case for proceeding with Japan's constitutional amendment, which intends to disentangle Japan from its commitments at the end of World War II. The dispute over the Diaoyu Islands is still unresolved.
By handling frictions with Japan and the Philippines, China is forming a clear strategy on important issues that concern the country's core interests such as territory and sovereignty. While following the principle of solving disputes through peaceful means like dialogue and negotiations, China should draw a line, build deterrence, prepare for the worst-case scenario, and never allow intentions of undermining China's sovereign rights by ganging up with powers outside the region.
To China and most ASEAN countries, jointly promoting regional economic integration is the key trend of the China-ASEAN relationship while disputes over the South China Sea only concern a few ASEAN countries. Based on the spirit of the Declaration of the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, China conducted discussions with ASEAN members over the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea. The Philippines, which intended to hijack the China-ASEAN relationship to fulfill its own ambition, finally found itself isolated.
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