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Reviews 121 America,andCentralAsiaandhergradualdefensebuild-upwillcertainlycause sometensionwiththeUnitedStates.Thesefactorsshouldhavebeendiscussed morethoroughlyinthebooktobalancetheoptimisticviewofpotentialcollaborationamongChina,theUnitedStates,Japan,andotherdevelopedcountries. Despitetheselimitations,thebookprovidesahighlyreadableoverviewof whatChinahasbeendoinginAsiatosafeguarditsenergysecurity,whatalternativeenergyoptionsChinahasbeenpursuingtoreduceitsrelianceonimportedoil, andwhyitisdifficultforChinatoshiftrapidlytogreendevelopmentgivenits multi-facetedandfragmentedinterestsinenergypolicymaking.Thebookserves asaninformativereviewofChina'senergypolicyanditspoliticalcontexts.Itgives readersmuchtoconsiderabouthowChinaandtherestoftheworldshould pursueamoresecurefuturetogether. AlfredTat-KeiHo Alfred Tat-Kei Ho is an associate professor at the University of Kansas, School of Public Affairs and Administration, and a research fellow at both the Richard G. Lugar Center for Renewable Energy at Indiana UniversityPurdue University Indianapolis and the School of Government, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, PRC. SujianGuoandJean-MarcF.Blanchard,editors."Harmonious World" and China's New Foreign Policy. Lanham,MD:LexingtonBooks,2008.xv,252 pp.Hardcover$65.00,isbn978-0-7391-2603-5.Paperback$32.95,isbn 978-0-7391-2604-2. YufanHao,C.X.GeorgeWei,andLowellDittmer,editors.Challenges to Chinese Foreign Policy: Diplomacy, Globalization, and the Next World Power. Lexington:UniversityPressofKentucky,2009.378pp.Paperback $29.95,isbn978-0-8131-9202-4.Hardcover$75.00,isbn:978-0-8131-2529-9. AsChinabecomesakeyplayerininternationaleconomicsandpoliticstoday, publicationsonChinaarebooming.Everyyear,dozensofnewbooksonChinese foreignpolicymaketheirwaytothebookshelves.Some(mostlyWestern)scholars tendtoexplainChineseforeignpolicyusingexistinginternationalrelations theoriesorhistoricalanalogies.Otherscholars(mostlyChinese)tendtoemploy empiricalevidencetodescribeandanalyzeBeijing'spolicieswithafocusonthe © 2011 by University of Hawai`i Press 122 ChinaReviewInternational:Vol.17,No.1,2010 linkagebetweendomesticpoliticsandforeignrelations.Contributorstothetwo booksreviewedhereapparentlybelongtothesecondcategory. Empiricallyrich,thetwobooksaddressmajorchangesandchallengesin Chineseforeignpolicytoday.Theoreticallyambitious,theeditorsandcontributors aimtodevelopananalyticalframeworkforbetterunderstandingChineseforeign policyanditsimpact. TheHao,Wei,andDittmerbookisacollectionofarticlesbyChinesescholars whoteachatChineseuniversitiesorwhooriginallycamefromChinabutnow teachatuniversitiesabroad.ThisbookisoneofveryfewinEnglishthatpresent theperspectivesofChinesescholarsonChina'sforeignpolicy.Thebookasksafew importantquestions:WillChina'sgrowingpowerleadtheChineseleadershipto challengetheexistinginternationalnorms,rules,andinstitutions?OrwillChina's integrationintotheinternationaleconomy,itsgrowingmiddleclass,andits increasingparticipationininternationalinstitutionsleadtoChina'sbecominga statusquopower?Howshouldtheworldrespondtothisreemerginggreatpower? Thiseditedvolume,developedfromtwointernationalconferencesheldin China(NanchangUniversityin2005andUniversityofMacaoin2006),isdivided intofourparts.Thechaptersinpart1addressChina'srelationswiththeUnited States--itsmostimportantcounterpartinforeignrelations.Part2discusses challengesinChina'srelationswithothermajorpowers:Russia,Japan,andthe EuropeanUnion.Part3dealswithChina'schallengesinitsneighborhood,coveringtheKoreanpeninsula,SouthAsia,theTaiwanStrait,andHongKongand Macao.Part4examinesthedynamicchangesinChina'sexternalrelationsaswell asthenewandlastinginternalelementsthathaveinfluenceditspolicymaking.In theconclusion,LowellDittmeroffersahistoricalperspectiveofChineseforeign relationsandsummarizesBeijing'sgrandstrategiesforrisingpeacefully.Taken together,thecontributorsarguethatalthoughChina'ssecurityenvironmentseems tohaveimproved,thechallengesremaindaunting,andsomeofthemcomefrom within.Chinahasbeenastatusquopowersincethemid-1990sandwillremainso inthenearfuture(Hao,p.13). TheGuoandBlanchardbookderivesfrompaperspresentedataninternationalconferenceheldatSanFranciscoStateUniversityin2007."Peaceful development"()and"harmoniousworld"()havebecomenew foreignpolicyprinciplesunderPresidentHuJintao.Whatdothesetermsmean? HowhasChinapursueditsnewdiplomaticobjectives?Whataretheimplications ofChina'snewforeignpolicy?AgroupofChinascholarsattemptstoaddressthese questionsinthebookandhopestohelpreadersunderstandwhatkindof"harmoniousworld"Chinaisseeking. Thebookincludestenwell-researchedchaptersthatcoverChina'snewdiplomacyintheglobalsouth,itsembraceofmultilateralinstitutions,itsrelationswith othermajorpowers,itseconomicandtradepolicies,itseffortstoprojectsoft power,anditssearchforidentityasitexpandsitsrelationswiththerestofthe Reviews 123 world.HowdomesticopinionsaffectChina'sharmoniousworldpolicytoward othercountriesisstudied,withachapteronChina-Japanrelationsasacasestudy. HowtheUnitedStatesisreactingtoChina'snewdiplomacyisalsodiscussed. Toacertainextent,thetwobooksaddresssomeofthesameissuesandproblems:changesandcontinuities,andchallengesandprospectsinChina'sforeign policy.TheGuoandBlanchardbookdealswiththedomesticcontextofChina's policyofpursuinga"harmoniousworld"externally.TheHao,Wei,andDittmer bookfocusesonChina'srelationswithmajorpowersinanincreasinglyinterdependentworldinwhichChinahasbecomeanactiveandimportantplayer. Together,thetwobooksprovideinsightfulscholarshiponnewdevelopmentsin Chineseforeignpolicythatisincreasinglyconstrainedbybothdomesticand internationalfactors. Differentfrommostmonographsthatbeginwithaliteraturereviewanda theoreticaldiscussion,thetwoeditedbooksdelveimmediatelyintoempiricalcase studiesafterabriefintroduction.Eachchapteroffersdifferentyetinterrelated perspectivesonChina'sforeignpolicy.Thechaptersarewellresearched,balanced, andinsightful.Somereadersmaybedisappointedatthelackofaconsistentand comprehensivetheoreticalframeworkthatconnectsdifferentchaptersinthese books.Infact,booksonChineseforeignrelationstendtobedescriptiveandweak intheoreticaldevelopment. However,serious,thoughsomewhatsporadic,effortsinthetwobooksdo addressthetheoreticalissue.Forexample,theHao,Wei,andDittmerbooksuggeststhatbothexternalandinternalstimuliandrestraintshavebeenandwill continuetobemajorsourcesofChineseforeignpolicyoptions(Hao,p.4).In chapter7,QuanshengZhaousesthreemodelstoanalyzeChina'sJapanpolicy: the history-embeddedapproach,thenationalinterestdrivenapproach,andthe co-managementapproach.Chinahasclearlymovedtowardtheco-management approachrecently.Cooperatingwithothermajorpowersandembracingmultilateralismaremanifestationsofsuchanewstrategy.Inchapter17,WenshanJia attemptstodevelopaninterculturalcommunicationmodeltoexplainChina's foreignrelations.IntheGuoandBlanchardbook,severalcontributorsalsoengage intheoreticalexploration.Forexample,inchapter3,KaiHeexplainswhyChina embracesmultilateralinstitutions.Inchapter5,ShengDingexamineshowChina iswieldingitssoftpowertoconstructitsidealofinternationalorderintheageof China'srise. Undoubtedly,internationalrelationsandforeignpolicystudieshavebeen dominatedandshapedbyWesternscholarsandWesterntheories.Inrecentyears, somescholarsinChinahaveattemptedtodevelopa"Chineseschoolofthought" ininternationalrelations.QinYaqing,aleadingscholarattheChinaForeign AffairsUniversity,defines"China'scentralquestion"as"howtopeacefullyintegrateintointernationalsociety."1AccordingtoQin,aChineseinternationalrelationstheoryislikelyto,andeveninevitablywill,emergealongwiththegreat 124 ChinaReviewInternational:Vol.17,No.1,2010 economicandsocialtransformationthatChinahasbeenexperiencingandby exploringtheessenceoftheChineseintellectualtradition.TheTianxia() worldviewandthetributarysysteminthetwomillenniaofChina'shistory,the radicalthinkingandrevolutionsinthenineteenthandtwentiethcenturies,and reformandopeningupsince1978arethethreemilestonesofChina'sideational andpracticaldevelopmentand,therefore,couldproviderichnutritionfora Chineseinternationalrelationstheory.2DanielA.Bell,professorofethicsand politicalphilosophyatTsinghuaUniversityinBeijing,suggeststhatChinashould promoteConfucianism,especiallymeritocracyandharmony,initsinteractions withtheoutsideworld.3Obviously,aharmoniousworldviewisusefultounderstandChina'snoninterferenceforeignpolicyanditsrespectfortoleranceand diversity. Indeed,morethanthirtyyearsafterChinarebuiltitssocialsciencesatthe conclusionoftheCulturalRevolution,Chinesescholarsininternationalrelations arematureandsophisticatedenoughtodevelopauniqueChineseperspectiveon internationalrelations.ThestudyofChineseforeignpolicymustandcanberaised toahigherlevelwithamorevigoroustheoreticaldevelopment.Thechallengeis howtocreateaparsimoniousmodeltoaccountforapolicythatisstillevolving. Theeffortsofthetwobooks'editorsandcontributors--someofthefinestChina scholarstoday--inhighlightingmajorchallengesofChineseforeignpolicyandin generatingtheoreticaldebatearecommendable.
China Review International – University of Hawai'I Press
Published: Mar 1, 2010
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