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China’s diplomacy in 2013 was eye-catching due to the leadership change in the country and the reinvigoration of reform. The spirit of reform and a world vision， which China’s new leadership inherits from their predecessors， are the soul of Chinese diplomacy today.
Today’s world
The current situation is quite different from when China’s reform and opening up started in the late 1970s. China’s national strength has grown exponentially since then. As a result， the country faces a huge responsibility in using its strength to play its role in the world. Knowing the importance of adopting the right strategy and properly using its power， the new leadership stressed that China will stick to its path of peaceful development.
Maintaining continuity is a key tenet of China’s diplomacy. The key goals of Chinese diplomacy—maintaining peace as well as promoting development and cooperation—have not changed since the leadership transition， only become clearer and steadier with the passage of time.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his team came to power at a time when the domestic and international situation was relatively complicated. They committed themselves to deepening reform in China， further opening up the domestic economy and deepening its integration with the world economy. They are aware that it will be very difficult to advance reform when internal contradictions and international conflicts exist. They believe that for China to concentrate on its own development， there must be a peaceful international environment.
There are still hidden risks for China. Major economies have conducted structural adjustments and are preparing to stop quantitative easing in the post-crisis era， which will increase competition and fluctuations in the world economy. As Barack Obama’s administration insists on implementing its new strategy in Asia， China’s relationships with the United States， Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations （ASEAN） have become more complicated. China faces heightened strategic pressure in its neigh- borhood， amid ongoing disputes over territory and maritime boundaries. The situation in hotspots like the Korean Peninsula， Syria and the nuclear issue of Iran has been tense， which directly impacts China’s strategic interests， border stability and energy security.
To deal with the complex situation， President Xi has vowed to strengthen toplevel design and always have national interests in mind. 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 winwin 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 be- tween 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.
Level-headed
Foreign observers often use “assertive diplomacy” to describe China’s diplomacy under the new leadership. But this is not the true description of China’s evolving foreign policy.
China’s attitude toward international hotspot issues in 2013 directly reflects the new leadership’s preference for peace. China firmly takes the side of peace， and opposes military solutions. It endeavors to persuade concerned parties to hold peaceful talks， provides coordination as a responsible power，actively comes up with “China solution，” and plays an important role in maintaining the direction of a political settlement of Korean Peninsula situation， the Syria issue and Iran’s nuclear issue. China’s fair and clear stand on these disputes has prevented the situations from further deteriorating. In December 2013， North Korea announced that senior leader Jang Sung Taek， who was married to top leader Kim Jong Un’s aunt， was removed from all his posts and executed for “anti-party and counter-revolutionary crimes.” China’s official reaction was brief， cool-headed and low-key， showing the world that it does not intend to draw any conclusions on the domestic situation in North Korea， but that it will not miss any opportunity to persuade Pyongyang to join the road of self-reform and return to the sixparty talks on its nuclear issue.
Boosting development
What the new Chinese leadership really wants is to push forward domestic reform smoothly. In keeping with this， China’s diplomacy is targeted at expanding opening up and promoting cooperation.
Since the leadership change in March 2013， China has been making preparations to explore a new way to boost the opening up and deepen reform. Premier Li delivered his most important speech after becoming the head of government at the Summer Davos Forum in Dalian， a coastal city in northeast China’s Liaoning Province， on September 11， 2013. Li said in his speech that China’s development must depend on reform as well as opening up. China’s economic transformation would make greater contributions to the world’s development and prosperity， he said， adding that China is willing to share this huge opportunity with the world， hoping other countries will provide a better cooperative environment for China’s development.
Approving the decision of comprehensively deepening reform， the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee stressed that reform of the economic structure should be a key element of the following new phase of development. The session emphasized that China should adapt to the new situation of economic globalization， promote reform through expanding opening up， and form a new pattern of opening up on all fronts.
China is hastening its pace in advancing new international trade frameworks to develop a free trade area network. It has signed 12 free trade agreements and is negotiating another six， involving a total of 31 countries and regions. In the second half of 2013， China restarted its bilateral investment agreement negotiations with the United States based on the precondition of national treatment and came up with strategic blueprints for setting up the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Maritime Silk Road of the 21st Century. It also accelerated construction of connectivity of infrastructure facilities with its neighbors.
At the same time， China’s attitude toward U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership （TPP） trade negotiations has changed a little. While driving Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership negotiations with ASEAN， China declared that it would discuss communication and interaction with regional cooperative mechanisms like the TPP， so as to fasten the two wheels of regional and global trade arrangements together.
Today’s world
The current situation is quite different from when China’s reform and opening up started in the late 1970s. China’s national strength has grown exponentially since then. As a result， the country faces a huge responsibility in using its strength to play its role in the world. Knowing the importance of adopting the right strategy and properly using its power， the new leadership stressed that China will stick to its path of peaceful development.
Maintaining continuity is a key tenet of China’s diplomacy. The key goals of Chinese diplomacy—maintaining peace as well as promoting development and cooperation—have not changed since the leadership transition， only become clearer and steadier with the passage of time.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his team came to power at a time when the domestic and international situation was relatively complicated. They committed themselves to deepening reform in China， further opening up the domestic economy and deepening its integration with the world economy. They are aware that it will be very difficult to advance reform when internal contradictions and international conflicts exist. They believe that for China to concentrate on its own development， there must be a peaceful international environment.
There are still hidden risks for China. Major economies have conducted structural adjustments and are preparing to stop quantitative easing in the post-crisis era， which will increase competition and fluctuations in the world economy. As Barack Obama’s administration insists on implementing its new strategy in Asia， China’s relationships with the United States， Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations （ASEAN） have become more complicated. China faces heightened strategic pressure in its neigh- borhood， amid ongoing disputes over territory and maritime boundaries. The situation in hotspots like the Korean Peninsula， Syria and the nuclear issue of Iran has been tense， which directly impacts China’s strategic interests， border stability and energy security.
To deal with the complex situation， President Xi has vowed to strengthen toplevel design and always have national interests in mind. 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 winwin 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 be- tween 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.
Level-headed
Foreign observers often use “assertive diplomacy” to describe China’s diplomacy under the new leadership. But this is not the true description of China’s evolving foreign policy.
China’s attitude toward international hotspot issues in 2013 directly reflects the new leadership’s preference for peace. China firmly takes the side of peace， and opposes military solutions. It endeavors to persuade concerned parties to hold peaceful talks， provides coordination as a responsible power，actively comes up with “China solution，” and plays an important role in maintaining the direction of a political settlement of Korean Peninsula situation， the Syria issue and Iran’s nuclear issue. China’s fair and clear stand on these disputes has prevented the situations from further deteriorating. In December 2013， North Korea announced that senior leader Jang Sung Taek， who was married to top leader Kim Jong Un’s aunt， was removed from all his posts and executed for “anti-party and counter-revolutionary crimes.” China’s official reaction was brief， cool-headed and low-key， showing the world that it does not intend to draw any conclusions on the domestic situation in North Korea， but that it will not miss any opportunity to persuade Pyongyang to join the road of self-reform and return to the sixparty talks on its nuclear issue.
Boosting development
What the new Chinese leadership really wants is to push forward domestic reform smoothly. In keeping with this， China’s diplomacy is targeted at expanding opening up and promoting cooperation.
Since the leadership change in March 2013， China has been making preparations to explore a new way to boost the opening up and deepen reform. Premier Li delivered his most important speech after becoming the head of government at the Summer Davos Forum in Dalian， a coastal city in northeast China’s Liaoning Province， on September 11， 2013. Li said in his speech that China’s development must depend on reform as well as opening up. China’s economic transformation would make greater contributions to the world’s development and prosperity， he said， adding that China is willing to share this huge opportunity with the world， hoping other countries will provide a better cooperative environment for China’s development.
Approving the decision of comprehensively deepening reform， the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee stressed that reform of the economic structure should be a key element of the following new phase of development. The session emphasized that China should adapt to the new situation of economic globalization， promote reform through expanding opening up， and form a new pattern of opening up on all fronts.
China is hastening its pace in advancing new international trade frameworks to develop a free trade area network. It has signed 12 free trade agreements and is negotiating another six， involving a total of 31 countries and regions. In the second half of 2013， China restarted its bilateral investment agreement negotiations with the United States based on the precondition of national treatment and came up with strategic blueprints for setting up the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Maritime Silk Road of the 21st Century. It also accelerated construction of connectivity of infrastructure facilities with its neighbors.
At the same time， China’s attitude toward U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership （TPP） trade negotiations has changed a little. While driving Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership negotiations with ASEAN， China declared that it would discuss communication and interaction with regional cooperative mechanisms like the TPP， so as to fasten the two wheels of regional and global trade arrangements together.