A Bridge over Troubled Waters?: New Developments in Chinese Foreign Relations

Abstract

Five new books on Chinese foreign relations break important theoretical and empirical ground. From the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean and the South China Sea to the Baltic Sea, these works discuss China's economic, political, and security relations with the rest of the world. They also show that other countries are not passive recipients of China's policies, but adopt, reject, or redefine Chinese initiatives, such as Belt and Road, based on their interests, values, and stories about their place in the world. However, the books overlook the broader international context in which such interactions take place: the relationship between China and the United States. The intensifying Sino-US rivalry forces other states to take sides in a fight that is not their own and strengthens some political actors and narratives at the expense of others. We need to start building bridges across this divide to prevent a renewed division of the world into two hostile blocs.