China's peaceful rise

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China's peaceful rise (Chinese: 中国和平崛起; Pinyin: Zhōngguó hépíng juéqǐ) is a foreign policy doctrine of the People's Republic of China in the early 21st century.

1 Origins
2 Main principle
3 Sino-American relations
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Origins

Many of the ideas of the peaceful rise of the PRC come from the new security concept, which was formulated by thinktanks in the PRC in the mid-1990s.

The term itself was first used in a speech given by the former Vice Principal of the Central Party School of the Chinese Communist Party, Zheng Bijian, in late 2003 during the Boao Forum for Asia [1]. It was then reiterated by PRC premier Wen Jiabao in an ASEAN meeting as well as during his visit to the United States. It appears to be one of the first initiatives by the fourth generation of the leadership of the PRC, headed by Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao. On some occasions, the term China's peaceful development (中国和平发展; Zhōngguó hépíng fāzhǎn) is used instead.

In Zheng's speech he pointed out that in the past, a rise of a new power often resulted in drastic changes to global political structures, and even war (i.e. the hegemonic stability theory in international relations). He believed that this was because these powers "chose the road of aggression and expansion, which will ultimately fail." Zheng stated that in today's new world, the PRC should instead develop peacefully, and in turn help to maintain a peaceful international environment.

The content of the policy is also widely seen to reflect a more cosmopolitan and sophisticated outlook on the part of PRC's foreign policy establishment after the leadership transition in 2003.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Main principle

The term is used primarily to reassure the nations of Asia and the United States that the rise of the PRC in military and economic prominence will not pose a threat to peace and stability, and that other nations will benefit from PRC's rising power and influence. Explicit in the doctrine, is the notion that PRC's economic and military development is not a zero-sum game and that China is less of an economic competitor than an economic opportunity.

The doctrine emphasizes the importance of soft power and is based in part on the premise that good relations with its neighbors will enhance rather than diminish the comprehensive national power of the PRC. Part of this doctrine is that the PRC will have an economic policy different from that of Japan during the 1980s, will avoid neo-mercantilism and protectionism, and that nations outside of mainland China will be able to materially benefit from China's economic rise through trade and investment. As such, China's participation in the World Trade Organization is important.

In diplomacy, the doctrine emphasizes multilateral cooperation through institutions such as the six-party talks concerning North Korea's nuclear program and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. It also calls for less assertiveness in border disputes such as those concerning the Spratly Islands, Diaoyutai/Senkaku, and the Aksai Chin. PRC's active diplomacy over North Korea and Iran's nuclear program, has been widely regarded as a break from previous foreign policy of the PRC which has been widely seen as passive and opportunistic.

[edit] Sino-American relations

In addition, this doctrine seeks to avoid confrontation with the United States. One of the motivations behind the doctrine was the conclusion in the late 1990s that the United States was not a declining power and that for the first part of the 21st century, no alliance of great powers could constrain US actions. The other motivation behind the doctrine is the realization that trade with the United States has been and will be essential for the economic growth in mainland China. Thus, the PRC seeks to prevent the US from becoming an enemy while making it impossible for the US to follow a strategy of containing China. One consequence of this doctrine is that the PRC has remained neutral over US foreign policy initiatives such as its invasion of Iraq.

This policy has somewhat complemented US actions in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks. In contrast with the situation in the late-1990s, voices such as the blue team, which considers the rise of China to be the most serious security threat to the United States, have been considerably muted. In addition, as the United States has been heavily involved in Iraq, stability in East Asia, especially in the areas of North Korea and Taiwan, are attractive to the US.

The political status of Taiwan is explicitly excluded from the doctrine as the PRC considers Taiwan to be a domestic affair. At the same time, as part of its aim of avoiding confrontation with the United States, the PRC has attempted to portray itself as an advocate of peace and stability in the Taiwan straits, with the Republic of China (ROC) government under Chen Shui-bian being cast as dangerously destabilizing to the region. In contrast to earlier policies, it has attempted to gain the support of the US in restricting what it perceives as Chen's efforts to further Taiwan independence.