China's Omnidirectional Peripheral Diplomacy

In view of its size, and vast land and sea boundaries that it shares with its neighbours, China has always regarded its peripheral policy as a crucial aspect of its national security. Such a mentality conforms to Chinese leaders' core belief that a stable external environment — in particular, its immediate region — remains the sine qua non for the continued and sustained rejuvenation of their nation.

This book examines China's evolving strategies towards its surrounding peripheries. It is the first book to examine in detail President Xi Jinping's steering of China's peripheral diplomacy. It argues that China pursues an ambitious, omnidirectional regional diplomacy that emphasizes the entire periphery region, and not just specific peripheries. According to this book, Chinese regional policy cannot be properly and adequately understood without taking into account its full breadth, substance and scope. Featuring chapters that explore China's evolving policy in Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia and Central Asia, and addressing new developments under Xi, this book fleshes out the intricacies of how China has been managing its peripheral relationships in Asia under new circumstances and new leadership.

Contents:

• Introduction:

  • Periphery Diplomacy: Moving to the Center of China's Foreign Policy (Jianwei Wang and Tiang Boon Hoo)

• Broad Regional Context:

  • China's Changing Perspective of its Periphery Environment (Jianwei Wang)
  • U.S.–China Competition in East Asia (Xin Jin)
  • China's New Security Concept and CBMs in East Asia (Dan Liu)

• Northeast and Southeast Asia:

  • Change and Continuity: China's North Korea Policy in Transition (Ru Sun)
  • An Analysis of China's Diplomacy to Japan in the New Period (Yunxiang Liang)
  • China's Institutional Engagement with ASEAN: Space, Stakes and Strategies (Zhimin Lin)
  • China–ASEAN Security Interactions and the South China Sea Issue (Penghong Cai)
  • China's Policy Toward Mekong River: Soft Power, National Image and Cultural Exchange (Qichao Wang)

• South Asia:

  • China–India Relations: Building a Strategic Partnership Amid Uncertainties (Gancheng Zhao)
  • The Border Dispute in Sino-Indian Relations (Nazia Hussain)
  • China's Global Maritime Engagement and the Indian Ocean Region (Raghavendra Mishra)

• Central Asia:

  • The Geo-strategic Landscape in Central Asia and China (Aidar Amrebayev)
  • China's Expanding Economic Interests in Central Asia (Alessandro Arduino)
  • China's Silk Road Economic Belt in Central Asia ()
  • The Complexities in the Making of China's Afghanistan Policy (Ambrish Dhaka)

Readership: Students and researchers who are interested in China's peripheral diplomacy under the new leadership of Xi Jinping.
Key Features:

• First, most books on China's regional policy focus on the East Asia region, the so-called traditional periphery. This is one of the few books that provides a more holistic and comprehensive perspective, focusing on the full range of China's peripheries
• Second, it is among the few books that include detailed examination of China's relations with Central and South Asia, areas where the literature has been relatively sparser and is often missing in traditional scholarly discussion of China's peripheral diplomacy
• Third, this book is the first one to systemically examine the changes and continuity of China's peripheral diplomacy under its new leader Xi Jinping and implications for general direction and thrust of Chinese foreign policy as an emerging super power in the region