The Three-Circle Theory and China’s Periods of Strategic Opportunity

Abstract

In contrast to the three-circle model proposed by Harvard University, China’s three-circle theory indicates that the primary element for strategic management is to grasp the right time, the basic element is to identify the right place, and the active element is to seek harmony. These three elements, i.e., time, place, and harmony, constitute a period of strategic opportunity. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, there have been three periods of strategic opportunity: the first was during the early days of the founding of the new China, the second was after the adoption of the reform and open-up strategy, and the third began in 1993. Since the beginning of the third period, China has adapted to the changing conditions of time and place, sought high-quality domestic development, fully engaged in world leadership, proactively implemented a series of strategic transformations, and gradually initiated a fourth period of strategic opportunity. Further adoption of the following strategies is proposed: advancing the second ideological emancipation, changing from benefiting from the reform and open-up strategy to benefiting from innovations, and transiting China from its peaceful rise to an inclusive rise.