Xi Jinping’s ‘Big Country Diplomacy’ with Chinese Characteristics

On November 28 and 29, the Chinese Communist Party held its first Central Work Conference on Foreign Affairs since 2006. The event provided an opportunity for Xi Jinping to showcase his foreign policy vision, which will presumably continue to guide Chinese diplomacy for the remainder of Xi’s 10-year tenure as president.

Xi hasn’t exactly been shy about putting forward new diplomatic initiatives. Even before assuming the presidency, he introduced the term “new type great power relations” while on a visit to the U.S.; the phrase continues to be China’s preferred focus for the relationship, although the Obama administration has been somewhat reluctant to buy into it. China has since expanded the idea, which calls for non-confrontation, non-conflict, and mutual respect to guide relations, to other major countries in addition to the United States, including Russia.

China under Xi has been extremely active on the multilateral front. The Silk Road Economic Belt and Maritime Silk Road (collectively called “one belt, one road”) provide a new, economically focused underpinning for China’s relations with neighbors from ASEAN to India, even potentially reaching as far west as the Middle East and Europe. China also took advantage of its role as host of the 2014 APEC and CICA summits to promote its own idea for the future of Asia-Pacific security – a vision based on a “community of shared destiny” among Asian states and not on the existing U.S.-led alliance structure.

Despite these new diplomatic initiatives, Xi had yet to articulate a coherent vision for China’s foreign policy under his leadership. At the Work Conference on Foreign Affairs, he did just that. Xi’s vision liberally uses old rhetoric and catch-phrases but also makes clear that China under his leadership will seek to play a larger role in international affairs, one commensurate with its growing strength.

In his speech, Xi affirmed his commitment to several long-standing staples of CCP foreign policy: peaceful development, win-win cooperation, and the importance of the current “period of strategic opportunity” for China’s development. These concepts are closely related. The insistence on peaceful development and win-win cooperation seeks to reassure China’s neighbors that they have nothing to fear – and in fact much to gain – from China’s continued rise to regional prominence. The idea of a “period of strategic opportunity” provides a convincing rationale for the other two policies. In essence, the Chinese government believes that the current international situation provides a stable and peaceful atmosphere conducive to China’s continued domestic development. As long as this strategic opportunity exists, the thinking goes, China should take care to maintain regional stability.

As Christopher Johnson of the Center for Strategic and International Studies noted, the affirmation of the “period of strategic opportunity” is a positive sign. It means that China continues to believe that, for the near future, “a benign external security environment” will let China devote its energies toward domestic issues. In other words, despite cautionary rhetoric about growing regional tensions (including the U.S. pivot to Asia), China’s top leaders still believe the chance of conflict is quite small. Accordingly, Xi urged China’s foreign policy workers not to be distracted by “intricate developments” in international affairs, but to keep their focus on achieving the “Chinese dream” and the “two centenary goals.”

In keeping with China’s commitment to peaceful development and prolonging the “period of strategic opportunity,” Xi reaffirmed China’s focus on neighborhood diplomacy. The CCP has long held that regional security should be China’s most pressing foreign policy concern, as regional events and relationships pose the greatest opportunity (and biggest potential danger) for China’s continued development. Accordingly, Xi sought to reassure the region that Beijing will “foster an amicable, secure and prosperous neighborhood environment, and boost win-win cooperation and connectivity with our neighbors.”

Amidst this continuity, however, Xi also recognized that the international situation has changed and China must adapt accordingly. In particular, Xi noted China’s growing dependence on the world and the changing nature of its relationships with other countries and the international community as a whole. In response, Xi declared that “new tasks … should be carried out under new conditions.” These “new tasks” provide a blueprint for continuing the robust foreign policy we have seen under Xi’s leadership so far.

Xi underscored that China should take a more active role in shaping the international order. The “growing trend toward a multi-polar world will not change,” Xi said, and China should continue to act as a voice for developing nations who feel underrepresented in the current international order. Xi is aware that seeking to alter the way the international system functions will be a difficult task, but he is also confident that history is on China’s side. “We should be keenly aware of the protracted nature of contest over the international order; on the other hand, we need to recognize that the direction of reform of the international system will remain unchanged,” he declared.

Along with its efforts to reshape the international system, China will seek to boost its own image on the world stage. Xi promised that China would stick to the path of non-alignment, but also said the country would seek a “global network of partnership,” presumably built on the sort of economic “win-win cooperation” embodied by the “one belt, one road” initiatives. As part of building its partnerships, China will seek to increase its soft power, including efforts to ensure that China’s perspective is heard and respected around the world.

In essence, Xi argued that China should practice its own brand of “major power” diplomacy – becoming more influential in the world while taking care not to abandon its fundamental principles of non-interference and non-alignment. Even while Xi argued for China to become more active on the world stage, though, he noted that the growth in Chinese strength that will accompany development will be China’s “biggest opportunity.”

Xi’s direction is an interesting variation on Deng Xiaoping’s old recommendation for China to tao yang guang hui – keep a low profile. Xi clearly doesn’t believe China should remain passive when it comes to world affairs, but he, like Deng, recognizes that time is fundamentally on China’s side. Xi is confident that China’s national power will only continue to grow. Given that, China can afford to move slowly in consolidating its influence on the international stage (except, of course, when it comes to “core interests” involving sovereignty or territorial integrity).