The identity and international role of China *

Abstract

The chapter explains why China's grand strategy appears ambiguous, particularly when compared to the US. It focuses on the first facet of grand strategy to introduce the role theory to the investigation of a rising power's potential grand strategy. The chapter argues that the American grand strategy aims to promote a specific set of norms. The role conception difference in grand strategy styles demonstrates that the power to impose sanctions is essential to American strategists, whereas the power to symbolically achieve harmony is the key to understanding the Chinese grand strategic behavior. The chapter shows that American grand strategy embodies psychological identity-based role conceptions, whereas the Chinese style tends to represent a sociological role conception. It also argues that the establishment and implementation of a grand strategy are key factors that influence peace and conflict in international relations. China's strategy is to avoid the identity-based US grand strategy from threatening China's core interests or reforming China's relational role conception.