China's foreign policy contradictions: lessons from China's R2P, Hong Kong, and WTO policy

China's rise to great power status is indisputable but can it shape the future international order? This question remains widely debated because China's foreign policy is contradictory. Contrary to conventional wisdom, this book shows that China does not act from a position of strength, but that foreign policy contradictions are the result of the domestic vulnerabilities of the ruling Chinese Communist Party. Providing exceptional insights into the considerations behind the opaque institutional structures of Chinese foreign policymaking and decision making, it shows that China will not provide a "model" for a new international system, but could undermine the existing order.

China's rise to great power status is indisputable but can it shape the future international order? This question remains widely debated because China's foreign policy is contradictory. Contrary to conventional wisdom, this book shows that China does not act from a position of strength, but that foreign policy contradictions are the result of the domestic vulnerabilities of the ruling Chinese Communist Party. Providing exceptional insights into the considerations behind the opaque institutional structures of Chinese foreign policymaking and decision making, it shows that China will not provide a 'model' for a new international system, but could undermine the existing order.

"This book explains the fundamental contradiction in China's foreign policy: contrary to its claims, China does not consistently uphold the principle of state control in its international affairs. This inconsistency is shaping China's impact on the international order. This anthropological study of the foreign policymaking of the opaque Chinese party-state examines three case comparisons: the Responsibility to Protect, Hong Kong and the World Trade Organization. Based on in-depth interviews with party-state officials and an analysis of official documents, the book reveals the internal discussions, diverse set of interests, and dynamics and processes of a party-state in a state of constant transformation. The book demonstrates how competing sources of the Chinese Communist Party's domestic legitimacy combine with the complex and dynamic structure of the Chinese party-state, resulting in contradictory foreign policies. It demonstrates how both legitimization and the party-state structure constitute vulnerabilities of the party-state. Even though China struggles with these domestic vulnerabilities, this does not prevent it from projecting its power internationally or shaping the global order. The book argues that two sets of domestic vulnerabilities explain China's contradictory foreign policy and undermine its ability to project and promote a "China Model" as an alternative to the existing international order. China's contradictory foreign policy is likely to lead to a more particularistic, plural and fragmented international order."