Debates in China about the responsibility to protect as a developing international norm: a general assessment

Abstract

Over the past several decades, international debates over intervention have usually focused on the primacy of state sovereignty or the protection of human rights. The emergence of the responsibility to protect (R2P) stimulates more profound debates by providing different perspectives and terminologies. In this vein, an important voice of dissent, or at least scepticism, comes from China. This article pays special attention to the domestic debates concerning the R2P concept in China. Based on a review of most of the academic studies on R2P in China, together with in-depth interviews with senior diplomats and practitioners, this article illustrates the different views of Chinese officials and scholars on the concept of R2P, offering insight into how to construct the new norm of R2P in order to shape the concept into an international norm that is more acceptable, legitimate and operational.