China's Search for Ideological Values in World Politics: Chinese Adaptation to Liberal Order Drawn from Political Reports of the Chinese Communist Party Congress since 1977

Abstract

The United States and China have now become the world's leading countries but, problematically, there is no strategically shared consensus among policymakers and scholars in these countries on how to manage the bilateral relationship or the international system in the long term. This “G‐2”‐style entity, effectively a hegemonic condominium or duopoly, could stably manage the international system and short‐circuit a hegemonic war between the dominant and rising powers. China's adaptation to international liberal order has appeared in Chinese Communist Party Congress (CCPC) documents during the last four decades. From the 11th CCPC in 1977 to the 18th CCPC in 2012, there were many changes in Chinese terminology seeking its ideological values in world politics. Traditional terminology of the Marxist–Leninist worldview was replaced with China's new political ideology based on material interest; meanwhile, China's historical theme of peace and development underlies the basic position of Chinese foreign policy. Negating hegemonic power still often offers a traditional view of world politics and China has proposed more positive terminologies about international relations rather than merely criticizing US hegemony and the inequalities of the global distribution of power. According to the political report of the Chinese Communist Party, China has revised its position and adapted a more active engagement to international liberal order. The foreign affairs section of the CCPC political report reveals a significant increase in interest‐oriented terminology, which engages with the current Western liberal order. The world should look forward to learning about how China supports liberal order and cooperates with the United States in global politics.