Conclusion: China’s New Foreign Policy

Abstract

China’s new foreign policy is characterised by money politics, military diplomacy, and a new assertiveness in international relations. This means China is willing to use its financial capabilities and investment programmes to establish and support diplomatic relations with strategically relevant states. China further uses its military to bolster its partners (through joint exercises, the supply of weapons systems or the creation of joint anti-terror organisations for border-control purposes). Finally, China’s new foreign policy is characterised by a new assertive stance visible in its policies in the SCS territorial disputes, the creation of the Asian Infrastructure Bank (AIIB), or the commissioning of aircraft carrier(s). It is important to understand that China’s foreign policy is – in contrast to Western practices – a coherent unity. As former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has written on the basis of his experiences, Chinese diplomats implement the grand strategy of their political leaders and this forestalls the type of open-ended negotiations conducted among Western diplomats: