Reconciling China’s maritime discourses of nationalism and international engagement with left Confucian logic

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China’s discursive combination of nationalism and international engagement with its maritime neighbours seems self-defeating. To explain why this narrative strategy has been deemed apt, previous studies have predominantly followed a realist approach and contended that China’s international engagement is pure statecraft to help its national rejuvenation efforts. As the merits of Confucianism increasingly affect contemporary Chinese socialism, this paper interprets the internarrativity of left Confucian ethics, Chinese nationalism and international engagement in East China Sea geopolitics. It argues that China tends to identify itself as a contributor to common material interest in the international community. With the notion of graded love, the contribution to the people of the world does not undermine the self-interests. China’s national defence is often allegedly conducted alongside the defence of the existing order enabling its contribution. China does not aim to challenge the order per se, but it challenges the US and its allies’ collective interpretations of it. This situation leads to antagonistic peace when the US-led alliance is unstable. However, if the US’s geopolitical alliance is strong enough to withstand the solipsistic interpretation of the order, the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation can be better realized.