Geoe-conomic Analysis of China's Foreign Policy

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Associate Professor of International Relations, Tehran University, Tehran, Iran

2 – PHD in International Relations, Tehran University, Tehran, Iran

3 Associate Professor of Political Geography, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

The economy is a decisive factor in China's foreign policy. Since the beginning of the reform era, this factor has been the driving force behind China's growth and development. Consequently, the policy of constructive engagement with the outside world, especially the advanced ones, became the focus of its foreign policy. However, since the beginning of the 2010s, China's economic growth has slowed down. Consequently, the country's leaders emphasized the "reliance on domestic consumption" and "outside investment" models in order to maintain the economic growth and preventing the "middle income trap".These developments have had important implications for foreign policy. The most important foreign policy manifestations of them are: to preserve and even strengthen China's commitments to existing financial institutions; to emphasize the role of the market; focusing on Asia;  to strengthen economic relations with East Asia and its geographic West; creating new multilateral economic institutions and initiatives, as well as efforts to maintain and strengthen economic relations with the United States, which has been under pressure during Donald Trump. Therefore, this study is seeking to examine a geo-economic analysis of China's foreign policy based on these new developments.

Keywords


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