Aggravation of China-US Competition on the Problem of the World Order: Chinese Scientists Views Evolution

Abstract

The article is devoted to Chinese scholars’ views on the nature, history and dynamics of the modern international order. The authors analyze international order definitions given by various representatives of China’s international relations theory. The evolution of the Chinese approach to the international order and the system of global governance, from the 1950s’ isolationism till the modern global collective goods creation is traced here. International order justness and rational nature are considered as its basic principles and norms. The authors underline the impact of the rise of China, China’s foreign policy mercantilism on the formation of Beijing’s views on the contemporary international order. The current stage of formulating the concept of international order, which began in 2012, is characterized by such features as an interest in the creation of multilateral institutions and the nature of complex state power parameters. Special attention is paid to the international order tectonic changes, associated with the beginning of large-scale conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Western sanctions, as well as the position of China. The authors note that systemic contradictions do not allow China and the United States to achieve their bilateral relations’ full normalization. China assumes an extremely negative attitude towards the U.S. of controlled chaos concept, one of the strongest features of which is sharp geopolitical pressure on Russia. By violating the principle of inviolability of property during the imposition of unilateral sanctions, Western countries send negative signals, to many nations, including China, which till the very recent times shared the basic principles of the liberal international order. The growing number of rogue states that are not subject to international law deepens the civilizational gap between the West and the rest of the world.