B2938 - CHINA'S FOREIGN POLICY IN EURASIA

Conoscenze e abilità da conseguire

This module provides students with the opportunity to examine China’s foreign policy — as in general as in Eurasia, which is assuming greater relevance for Beijing due to the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). By the end of the module, students will be able to assess critically the political, economic, military, and intellectual dimensions of China’s policies in the Eurasian space.

Contenuti

This module develops coherently with its twin on China-Russia relations (Dr. Nicolò Fasola) intend to provide students with a specialist knowledge on key dynamics in the Eurasian space.

As the world's second-largest economy and a rising global power, China has strategically expanded its influence beyond its immediate borders into the vast and diverse region of Eurasia.

China's foreign policy in the Eurasian region is driven by a combination of economic, political, and security interests. China seeks to secure energy resources, establish trade routes, and create markets for its goods and services, expand its strategic and political influence. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), launched in 2013, plays a pivotal role in China's engagement with Eurasia. By promoting infrastructure development, trade connectivity, and people-to-people exchanges, China aims to foster economic integration and expand its sphere of influence in the region.

This module will offer an in-depth examination of the multifaceted and rapidly evolving foreign policy of the People's Republic of China. This module is designed to provide students with an understanding of China's foreign policy strategies and its impact on regional and global affairs.

The main objectives of the course are:

Analyzing the historical, roots of China's foreign policy.

Explore the core principles, goals, and guiding concepts that underpin China's engagement with the international community.

Examine China's foreign policy approaches and strategies in the wider Eurasian region and towards the other main great powers of the international system.

Understand China’s perspective on the current international order.

Schedule of classes:

 

Part 1: History

1) From the Qing Empire to the People’s Republic.

2) The Mao era and the Cold War

3) The Era of Reform and Opening

 

Part 2: Ideas and Ideology

4) China’s Collective Memory

5) China’s vision of the international order(Seminar)

 

Part 3: Foreign and security policis

6) Foreign economic policies (Seminar)

7) Security policy

8) Taiwan and Cross strait relations

9) US-China relations

10) Great power competition or a new Cold War? (Seminar)

 

Basic instructions

Part of the classes will be delivered as traditional lectures, others will be held in seminar modality requiring students to actively participate to discussions and debates.

Students are required to prepare the assigned readings ahead of each class, as it is essential to the successful participation in this module. Students will find the readings and other materials on the Virtuale page of the course.

The evaluation will consist in : 30% of the grade active participation to seminars 70% of the grade final exam.

 

All readings and materials are available on the Virtuale page dedicated to the course.

Testi/Bibliografia

Readings :

 

1 From the Empire to the People’s Republic.

Westad, O.A. (2014). Restless Empire. China and the World since 1750. Basic Books. Ch. 2

Mitter, R. (2016). The War Years 1937-1949. In J.N. Wasserstrom, The Oxford Illustrated History of Modern China. Pp. 150-178

2 The Mao Era and the Cold War

Schell, O., & Delury, J. (2014). Wealth and power: China's long march to the twenty-first century. Random House Trade Paperbacks (Mao II)

Westad, O.A. (2017). The Cold War. A World History. New York. Basic Books. Ch. 9

Radchenko, S. (2010) The Sino-Soviet split. In Leffler, M. P., & Westad, O. A. (Eds.). The Cambridge history of the cold war (Vol. 3). Cambridge University Press.

3 The Era of Reform and Opening

Jian C. (2010) China and the Cold War after Mao. In Leffler, M. P., & Westad, O. A. (Eds.). The Cambridge history of the cold war (Vol. 3). Cambridge University Press.

Schell, O. (2020) The Death of Engagement. The Wire China

Schell, O., & Delury, J. (2014). Wealth and power: China's long march to the twenty-first century. Random House Trade Paperbacks (Deng 1)

4 China’s Collective Memory

Dian, M. (2017). Contested Memories in Chinese and Japanese Foreign Policy. Oxford: Elsevier. Ch.1-5 (selected parts.

 

5  China’s vision of the international order(Seminar Debate)

Rolland, N. (2020) China’s vision of the World Order. National Bureau Asian Research (selected parts).

Ministry of Foreign Affairs People’s Republic of China (2023). The Global Security Initiative Concept paper.

Xinhua (2023) Full text: Proposal of the People's Republic of China on the Reform and Development of Global Governance. Beijing.

Dian M. (2021) The 100 th anniversary of the foundation of the Chinese Communist Party and China’s collective memory. Istituto Ricerche e Analisi Difesa.

 

6 Foreign economic policies

Council on Foreign Relations (2023) China’s Massive Belt and Road Initiative https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/chinas-massive-belt-and-road-initiative

Yu, J. Wallace, J (2021) What is China’s Belt and Road Initiative? Chatham House https://www.chathamhouse.org/2021/09/what-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-bri

Page, M. (2023) Unpacking China’ Global Development Initiative. The Interpreter.

Dian, M. (2021) China, the United State and economic regionalism in Asia (unpublished working paper).

Marcin Kaczmarski, M. and Kuhrt, N. (2023). Putin and Xi: Beijing Belt and Road meeting highlighted Russia’s role as China’s junior partner. The Conversation 24 October

 

7 Security policies

US Department of Defence (2023) Military and Security Developments involving the People’s Republic of China. Annual Report to Congress. Washington DC. (execuritive summary+ ch.1)

Council on Foreign Relations (2024) China’s maritime disputes.Taiwan and Cross Strait Relations (seminar)

 

8 Taiwan and Cross Strait Relations

Sullivan, J. and Drun, J. (2022) “The United States and Taiwan: Foundations and Challenges of the One China Policy” in Turner, O., Nymalm, N., & Aslam, W. (Eds.).The Routledge Handbook of US Foreign Policy in the Indo-Pacific. Taylor & Francis. p. 241-254

Stokes, J. (2023) Resisting China’s Gray Zone Military Pressure on Taiwan. Center for a New American Security, Washington DC.

Campbell, C. (2023) Taiwan: Defense and Military Issues. Congressional Research Service. Washington DC.

 

9 US China relations

Schell, O. (2020) The Death of Engagement. The Wire China (post Cold War years).

Green, M. J. (2017). By More Than Providence: Grand Strategy and American Power in the Asia Pacific Since 1783. Columbia University Press. Ch 1

 

10 Great power competition or a New Cold War? (Seminar)

Dian, M (2022). IR theory, US-China relations and the future of the international order (pg. 1-18). Working paper.

Brenes, M. Jackson, V. (2022). “Great-Power Competition Is Bad for Democracy” Foreign Affairs.

Weiss, J. C. (2022). The China trap: US foreign policy and the perilous logic of zero-sum competition. Foreign Affairs, 101, 40.

Kim, P. M. (2023). The limits of the no-limits partnership: china and russia can't be split, but they can be thwarted. Foreign Affairs, 102(2), 94-105.

Metodi didattici

Traditional Classes and seminars with active duscussion.

Modalità di verifica e valutazione dell'apprendimento

The evaluation will consist in : 30% of the grade active participation to seminars 70% of the grade final exam.

Strumenti a supporto della didattica

Virtuale

Orario di ricevimento

Consulta il sito web di Matteo Dian