With new assertiveness and prominence, China under President Xi Jinping is rightly considered an emerging and aggressive superpower backed by growing economic and impressive military strength. In this meticulous and balanced assessment, Robert G. Sutter traces Chinas actions under Xi Jinping, including the many challenges they post to the international status quo. He provides a comprehensive analysis of newly prominent Chinese unconventional levers of power and influence in foreign affairs that were previously disguised, hidden, denied or otherwise neglected or unappreciated by specialists. Sutter considers the domestic issues that preoccupy Beijing and the global factors economic and political factors that complicate and constrain as well as enhance Chinas advance to international prominence.
Robert G. Sutter was an analyst of Asian and Pacific affairs and American foreign policy for the U.S. government for thirty years. He is now Professor of Practice of International Affairs, Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University.
Preface to the Fifth Edition
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
1 Continuity and Change in Contemporary Chinese Foreign Policy
2 Leadership Priorities, Decision Making, and Worldviews
3 China’s Role in the World Economy
4 China, Multilateralism, and International Governance
5 Chinese National Security Policies
6 Relations with the United States
7 Relations with Taiwan
8 Relations with Japan and Korea
9 Relations with Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands
10 Relations with Southern Asia and Central Asia
11 Relations with Russia and Europe
12 Relations with the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America
13 Assessing China’s Rise amid Acute Rivalry with America
Notes
Selected Bibliography
About the Author
Robert Sutter has a well-earned reputation for insightful and balanced analyses of US-China relations and Chinese foreign policy and for regularly updating them to incorporate more recent developments. In this latest edition of his classic textbook on China’s foreign relations, the revisions are major, reflecting his assessment that Chinese foreign policy has become far more assertive over the last decade, due in large part to Beijing’s development of new levers of power and influence that have previously been underappreciated and underexamined. This has transformed Beijing’s relations with the rest of the world and changed its relationship with the United States into an acute and global rivalry rather than the cooperative partnership the two countries may once have hoped for. — Harry Harding, University of Virginia
Robert Sutter’s book is the best comprehensive introduction to the background, trends and dynamics, and implications of contemporary Chinese foreign relations available. The book reflects his experience, accumulated expertise, and well-honed judgments over a career-long focus on Beijing’s interactions with the world. It is an indispensable guide to a topic of foremost importance in world affairs today. — Alice Miller, Stanford University
The world’s preeminent senior scholar of contemporary China’s foreign relations has produced the most up-to-date and comprehensive study of the subject available anywhere. Bob Sutter has been studying China for many decades and brings a wealth of knowledge, insight, and firsthand professional experience to this volume. This is a highly readable work that provides incisive analysis and thorough coverage. It will serve as a handy reference book for decision makers, analysts, scholars, and students for years to come. — Andrew Scobell
