Between interest and responsibility: Assessing China's foreign policy and burgeoning global role

Abstract

This article is situated within the contemporary debates about the nature and purpose of China's growing power. It uses the concepts of 'national interest' and 'international responsibility' as a framework of analysis for Chinese foreign policy, and develops a three-dimensional typology to conceptualize their relationship (antagonistic; instrumental; mutually constitutive). This article adopts two main arguments. First, a stronger China is one gravitating toward greater notions of international responsibility, albeit instrumentally. Second, observable trends in China's evolving worldview indicate, however, that it is conceiving its national interests more broadly, embracing further socialization and greater normative commitments to international society. One may therefore view China's burgeoning global role as a great power with a degree of 'cautious optimism.'