As I see it | Chinese scholars want a voice, but must beware being counterproductive
- A Chinese theory of international relations is needed to frame China’s thinking, especially when it clashes with Western perspectives, some argue
- But justifying a party-state system may be difficult internationally and Beijing should beware becoming too China-centric in its analysis
China’s widening ideological and geopolitical divide with the United States and its allies, and Beijing’s conviction that Washington will inevitably decline, appear to have given fresh impetus to the establishment of an indigenous, non-Western theory of international politics.
Increasingly vocal about scrutiny of Beijing’s global ambitions and preferred narrative, Chinese officials and specialists usually blame American hegemony for problems in getting their messages across.
In the words of President Xi Jinping, China should have the most say in interpreting and theorising its mode of development. But because of what Xi in 2016 called “the relatively small voice that the country has in international studies of philosophy and social sciences”, Beijing has largely been unable to make itself heard and understood externally.
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Gloves off at top-level US-China summit in Alaska with on-camera sparring
A distinctively Chinese theory, according to its proponents, is necessary in presenting China’s thinking and national interests, especially when they are discordant with prevailing ones with Anglo-Saxon origins. Those proponents allege that non-Western perspectives, including Chinese ones, have been systematically neglected by mainstream discourse. With China more often taking centre stage, such a Western-centric world view concerns some emerging powers.
