China’s Evolving Global Role

Time can create miracles. Just one century ago， China was the largest undeveloped country in the world. Now， it has regained its place as a major power. How China can grow into its new role and become a responsible power in this new era is a question scholars are currently grappling with.

“Creative involvement” is Professor Wang Yizhou’s solution. Wang， Vice Dean of the School of International Studies of Peking University， studies the origins， phases and possible direction of China’s global role in the 21st century. He suggests that China extends its traditional policy of non-intervention as global conditions change， and aim to provide more strategic assistance and public goods with higher efficiency， and in accordance with its abilities.

An innovative practice

Wang recently published a book titled Creative Involvement： the Evolution of China’s Global Role， the second of a series， focusing on the question of how China will learn from other countries’ experience to help itself grow from a marginalized nation to a responsible global power. “China is the most populous country in the world， with a long history and civilization that contains immeasurable creativity and in- novation. If more people engage in studying China’s new global role， there will be more benefits for the Chinese people， as well as the international society，” wrote Wang in the introduction to his book. It addresses three major topics： changes in China’s diplomacy since 1919； its assistance to Africa as a big power； and Europe’s experience as a global leader. Wang believes that China should draw lessons from its efforts to provide assistance to Africa， timely extend its non-intervention theory， and engage in a more creative involvement in term of international affairs.

“Diplomacy always serves national interests. As China’s interests have expanded along with its development， the country has inevitably grown to be a relevant player in various regions. Professor Wang Yizhou has suggested an effective method for implementing China’s diplomatic practice，” said Professor Wang Fan， Assistant President of China Foreign Affairs University， at a seminar hosted by the Chahar Institute， a non-governmental think tank for diplomacy and international relations.

Wang Fan said Professor Wang Yizhou covered China’s explorations in the diplomatic field in recent years， including good-neighborly relations， Six-Party talks and strategic dialogues. The United States basically dominates current international relation theories， which have greatly influenced Chinese researchers and scholars， but “Europe remains at the frontier of international relations by playing a role as economic trailblazer， modern civilization champion and international policy maker，” said Professor Wang Yizhou in his book， pointing out that while the EU is expected to develop more theories through innovation， China is sure to solidify its own approach to global issues.

Wang Fan added that Professor Wang Yizhou has also summarized China’s achievements and challenges in Africa， which is considered an experimental ground for China’s new global role， mainly due to the country’s lasting assistance during past decades.

In his previous book， Creative Involvement： the New Direction of China’s Diplomacy， Professor Wang Yizhou urges all foreign affairsrelated departments and people to proactively and voluntarily participate in the discussion and resolution of regional and international issues， while sticking to the basic policy of reform and opening up. “China should reconsider its diplomatic policy in adapting to changes at home and abroad. It needs to provide more assistance and public goods that could benefit people， alongside a good environment， public health and peace，” said the professor. He added that Chinese foreign policy makers should not copy the Western hegemonic model of forcing other nations to accept their way of thinking. Instead， China should be cautious， creative and constructive when dealing with international issues. “It will be a new option for China’s diplomacy based on its current global status and strength as well as its culture and traditions. It will bring a Chinese style to the world stage during the process of peaceful development，” said Professor Wang Yizhou.

Zhao Kejin， a researcher with Tsinghua University， explained that most scholars apply Western theories to China-related issues， completely ignoring the fact that China and the West have very different histories.“Professor Wang Yizhou has set a very good example for Chinese scholars，” said Zhao. “We must seek solutions to China’s problems by encouraging creative thought.” He said that Professor Wang Yizhou’s suggestion of creative involvement is an important exploration of China’s academic independence within international relations theory.

China’s challenges

China’s global role has changed from isolation to becoming a major player， said Professor Wang Yizhou in his book， and it wants to be a responsible country that contributes positively to the world. He suggested China should provide more public goods to the world， including outward assistance and inward creative thought and ideas.

Professor Wang Yizhou concluded that Chinese leaders are facing many challenges， such as rising nationalist sentiment， territorial disputes at sea， pressure from the U.S. strategic rebalance to the Asia-Pacific， conflict between growing domestic energy consumption and related foreign reliance， and its status in the international arena. China must therefore update its traditional pattern of staying lowkey or silent in international affairs， and turn to more active and creative global involvement.“Creative involvement is not a betrayal of our traditional diplomacy of non-intervention. On the contrary， it has developed according to new circumstances， and in correction of a previously unjust international order. Creative involvement will protect and enhance China’s image as a just， responsible and peace-loving power，” he wrote.

Professor Zhang Zhizhou， from Beijing Foreign Studies University， said， “The principle of non-intervention is very important， but not absolute. It should adapt in accordance with the changing situation.” China needs to think more about providing better public goods in a new era， he said， to better involve itself in global governance， said Zhang. He explained that increased national strength and diplomatic pressure are reasons behind China’s diplomatic transformation， but do not provide full justification. “Western political and diplomatic theories， pertaining to economic management and financial governance， have been found wanting. As a major power， China should take responsibility and provide public goods such as policies and theories to the world，” said Zhang.

Using Africa as an experimental plot for creative involvement， Wang Yizhou suggested extending China’s non-intervention principle in the following ways： providing assistance to enhance Africa’s peace-keeping ability， conducting more security-related projects， promoting cooperation with regional organizations and major countries， properly adjusting its nonalliance policy that originated during the Cold War， establishing a multi-level and flexible foreign assistance policy， and maintaining balance between domestic development and foreign assistance.

Li Dongyan， a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences， emphasized that China-Africa relations have entered a new era. China needs a new strategy to deal with new environment and challenges on the continent.“China should not provide unconditional assistance anymore. We need to perfect our nonintervention principle， and monitor African countries to prevent corruption and promote the efficiency of Chinese assistance，” said Li.

Professor Wang Yizhou emphasized that diplomacy is a manifestation of internal issues. Therefore， he believes China will have limited opportunity to creatively join in global governance without a sound domestic foundation. He plans to further cover diplomatic innovation and related domestic political and social points in his new book， which will be published in 2014. “China must ask itself whether it can make constructive contributions to the world as a global power，” Professor Wang Yizhou said， while also offering the answer， “Certainly， China can influence the world by changing itself.”