Course Description

With its expanding economy and ever-deeper international integration China is playing an increasingly significant role in the world affairs. Under such circumstances it is nearly impossible to foresee further international developments without understanding how China approaches the world and what shapes its behavior. How can we make sense of how China makes its foreign policy at a time of uncertainty and transformation? What is, and should be, China’s role and interest in addressing myriad complex global challenges? This course will explore the major issues in Chinese foreign policymaking with a particular focus on Vietnam and the U.S. as case studies. 

This course provides a comprehensive understanding of Chinese foreign policy. It will begin by examining the role of history, national identity, ideology, national interests in Chinese policymaking, and then explore the major institutions and actors in the Chinese foreign policymaking system. We will then examine in-depth Chinese policy towards Vietnam and the U.S. to see how Chinese foreign policymaking works. The course will also look at the historical context behind Chinese decision-making, present-day issues, and future challenges. 

In this way the students are expected to grasp certain background knowledge of Chinese history, political system and foreign policy process, as well as sufficient understanding of the key concepts and developments in international relations. They will both become familiar with Chinese foreign relations and enhance their conceptual understanding of the logics behind it.

Learning Outcomes

The students are expected to:

1. Understand/Recognize the domestic social, economic and political forces which shaped the current Chinese foreign policy (hereinafter CFP)

2. Enhance/Perform the students’ understanding of contemporary CFP and its historical development through the study of China’s relations with Vietnam, the US and regions of the world, and also the key issues in these relations. 

3. Communicate with structured knowledge of CFP and enable them to independently explain CFP decisions by presenting the key principles and factors shaping CFP. 

4. Formulate and conduct analytical skills; facilitate their ability to formulate and clearly express arguments in writing and oral presentations. 

COURSE POLICIES

Attendance and Participation

• Attendance will be taken in every session or event. Team representatives will report to the TAs about any absence on that specific day.
• Regular attendance to classes, team screenings are compulsory ensure the student’s success in the course. Please notify BOTH the instructors and the TA of any possible time conflicts two days ahead before class.  In case of medical emergency, the student must submit a written explanation accompanied by a confirmation letter from a medical doctor. 

Late Submissions

• All assignments must be submitted by the deadlines indicated in the course schedule (see below).
• Penalties will be applied to late assignments: Late submission of any assignment will be subjected to the assignment point penalty (10% deduction of each day late; for instance, if the assignment is counted as 10% toward the final grade, one day late will result in one (1) point deduction from the points earned).
• In case of medical emergency, a late submission request may be considered but only this can happen only once during the semester (see also “Attendance and Participation” above).
• All the assignments must be submitted in CANVAS system where students’ submission time is recorded and closely monitored.

Academic Integrity

• Since there will be a few writing assignments in this course, students must learn how to work with primary and secondary sources.
• It is essential for students to properly cite from sources to support their points of argument.
• This course requires that all citations must follow the APA Style.
• Plagiarism is strictly prohibited. Any plagiarist case found will be reported to the Registrar’s Office and the Dean of Undergraduate Programs.
• If there are anything unclear about how to properly cite sources or about what constitutes plagiarism, students must consult with the instructor before submitting their assignment. It is the student’s responsibility to understand and uphold the honor code.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND ASSESSMENT

1. Participation and Discussion: 10% 

- measure students’ ability to formulate and clearly express arguments in oral expressions (CL4).

2. Four Quizzes: 40% 

-measure students’ understanding and recogntion of the domestic social, economic and political forces which shaped the current Chinese foreign policy (CL1).

-measure students’ performance of the students’ understanding of contemporary CFP and its historical development through the study of China’s relations with Vietnam, the US and regions of the world (CL2). 

3. A mid-term essay (1000 words): 15%

- Formulate and conduct analytical skills; facilitate their ability to formulate and clearly express arguments in writing (CL4)

4. A final take-home paper (2000 words): 35%. Topic to be distributed later. 

- Formulate and conduct analytical skills; facilitate their ability to formulate and clearly express arguments in writing a lengthy essay (CL4).

COURSE SCHEDULE

Regular class (offline/in person): Room 8 (Broadway). The course is also taught online should the instructor be out of town.

The main textbooks: 

1. John Garver, China’s Quest: The History of the Foreign Relations of the People’s Republic of China (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016). 

2. David Shambaugh (ed.), China and the World (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020).

Week 1. Setting the foundation: Introduction to Chinese Foreign Policy (CFP)

The goal of this week’s readings is to help students develop a basic familiarity with key aspects of Chinese foreign policy. 

• John Garver, China’s Quest: The History of the Foreign Relations of the People’s Republic of China (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016), 1–28.

• Joel Wuthnow, “Deciphering China’s Intentions: What Can Open Sources Tell Us?,” The

Asan Forum, July 29, 2019, https://theasanforum.org/deciphering-chinas-intentions-whatcan-open-sources-tell-us/. 

• David Shambaugh (ed.), China and the World (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020), chapter 1.

• Nguyen Thanh Trung, https://tuoitre.vn/dinh-cao-moi-cua-ong-vuong-nghi-2023072709333488.htm 

Week 2. The process of CFP Making: key sources and actors.

The goal of this week’s readings is to help you develop a basic familiarity with key aspects of Chinese foreign policy. The following readings will highlight some challenges associated with interpreting Chinese foreign policy, explain how China’s foreign policy apparatus is organized, and give you a little historical background. What shapes China’s foreign policy?

• Alice Miller, “The CCP Central Committee’s Leading Small Groups,” China Leadership Monitor, No. 26 (Fall 2008).

• Suisheng Zhao, “China’s Foreign Policy Making Process: Players and Institutions” in Shambaugh. 

Week 3. Evolution of Chinese Foreign Policy: Chinese Foreign Policy under Mao Zedong 

China’s diplomacy has several enduring features, including the government’s Marxist-Leninist legacy and the drive for modernization. These selections from Garver’s book highlight the vicissitudes of Chinese efforts to reconcile the contradictions created by China’s domestic political needs and international challenges. 

• John Garver, China’s Quest: The History of the Foreign Relations of the People’s Republic of China (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016), 29-58, 92-145, 758–785.

• Odd Arne Westad, “Legacies of the Past” in David Shambaugh. 

Week 4. Evolution of Chinese Foreign Policy: Chinese Foreign Policy under Deng Xiaoping 

China’s diplomacy has several enduring features, including the government’s Marxist-Leninist legacy and the drive for modernization. These selections from Garver’s book highlight the vicissitudes of Chinese efforts to reconcile the contradictions created by China’s domestic political needs and international challenges during Deng era. 

• Garver, China’s Quest, 349–382, 401–460.

• Chas W. Freeman Jr, “China’s National Experiences and the Evolution of PRC Grand Strategy” in David Shambaugh.  

Week 5. China’s war with Vietnam in 1979

The Sino-Vietnam War of February–March 1979 marked the culmination of months of strained relations between the two neighbouring communist states. What were Chinese goals in waging a punitive war against Vietnam?

*Readings to be updated

Quiz 1

Week 6. Chinese Foreign Policy under Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao

How has Chinese Communist Party evolved under Jiang and Hu? How did China integrate into the international community after the Tian Anmen incident? How did Jiang help China get into WTO? Was Hu a lacklustre figure?

• Garver, China’s Quest, 528-556, 634-673. 

• Evan Medeiros and M. Taylor Fravel, “China’s New Diplomacy,” Foreign Affairs, Nov/Dec 2003. 

Week 7. Cases in Chinese Diplomacy: Chinese Diplomacy toward Vietnam 

Vietnam’s relationship with China has fluctuated up and down over the past two thousand years. However, the two countries have normalized relations for more than thirty years and seen each other as ideologically similar comrades, but territorial disputes in the South China Sea can resurface at any time to disrupt the improved ties. 

• Garver, China’s Quest, 382-400. 

Map Quiz

Quiz 2

Week 8. Cases in Chinese Diplomacy: The Beginning of U.S.-China Relations

The U.S. opening to China began in 1971 with National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger’s secret trip to China. In many ways, these initial discussions and the later ones involving President Richard Nixon helped set the parameters for how Beijing and Washington interact to the present day.

• James Mann, About Face: A History of America’s Curious Relationship with China, from Nixon to Clinton (New York: Vintage, 2000).

• Michael S. Chase, Timothy Heath, and Ely Ratner, “Engagement and Assurance: Debating the U.S.-China Relationship,” The National Interest, November 5, 2014. 

Mid-term essay due / Map Quiz

Week 9. Chinese Assertiveness: Impacts on Vietnam

Many analysts believe Xi Jinping’s China has abandoned Deng Xiaoping’s admonition to “bide your time, hide your capabilities.” The consensus congealed around a more confident if not assertive China. Nevertheless, assertiveness remains a problematic concept, and everyone should revisit the basis of the evidence, the thinking behind it, and expectations of Chinese foreign policy. 

• Garver, China’s Quest, 607-633, 674-704. 

• Aaron L. Friedberg, “The Sources of Chinese Conduct: Explaining Beijing’s Assertiveness,” The Washington Quarterly (Winter 2015), 133–150. 

• Alistair I. Johnston, “How New and Assertive is China’s New Assertiveness?” International Security, Vol. 37, No. 4 (Spring 2013), 7–48. 

Quiz 3

Week 10. China’s policy toward the South China Sea: Maritime Security Issues

China’s more assertive approach to handling its maritime territorial disputes in the South China Sea illustrates the tension between China’s attempts to defend its sovereignty claims and its desire to maintain relations with Vietnam and other neighbors, and a regional security environment conducive to economic growth and development. 

• Andrew S. Erickson and Conor M. Kennedy, “China’s Maritime Militia: What It Is and How to Deal with It,” Foreign Affairs, June 23, 2016. 

• Michael Yahuda, “China’s Relations with Asia” in David Shambaugh. 

• Carlyle A. Thayer, “ASEAN, China and the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea,” SAIS Review of International Affairs 33:2 (2013), pp. 75-84.

Week 11. China and the US: Taiwan Issue.

The main issues in China-US relations: Taiwan, economy-related issues; US arm sales to Taiwan. Taiwan Strait crisis. “One country-two systems approach” in CFP; Mainland and Taiwan’s foreign policy.

• David M. Lampton. 2001. “Economics and Human Rights,” in Same Bed, Different Dreams: Managing U.S.-China Relations, 1989-2000. Berkeley: University of California Press, Ch. 3, pp. 111-156. 

• Robert Sutter, “China’s Relations with the US” in David Shambaugh

Quiz 4

Week 12. China’s Participation in International Structures

China’s membership in major international organizations. China’s approach to the UN. Regional cooperation on non-traditional security issues. How does China’s participation in international frameworks change/constrain its foreign policy? Is China a “rule-taker” or a “rule-maker”?

• Margaret M Pearson. 2006. “China in Geneva: Lessons from China’s Early Years in the World Trade Organization,” in Alastair I. Johnston, Robert S. Ross. New Directions in the Study of China’s Foreign Policy, New York: Lexington Books, pp. 242-275. 

• Katherine Morton, “China’s Global Governance Interactions” in David Shambaugh. 

Week 13. Soft Power in China’s Foreign Policy

Over the past two decades, China has been creating a strategy to build its soft power. For the first time in post-WWII history, the United States may be facing a situation in which another country’s appeal outstrips its own in an important region. Vietnam has also been attracted to Chinese soft power over the past decade. 

• Andrew J. Nathan, “The Authoritarian Resurgence: China’s Challenge,” Journal of Democracy January 2015, pp. 156-170.

• Shaun Breslin, “China’s Global Cultural Interactions” in David Shambaugh. 

Week 14. Future directions of CFP and China’s place in the world (optional). 

For the past several years Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders have attempted to persuade their American counterparts to accept China’s vision for the establishment of a “new type of great power relations” or “new pattern of major country relations” with the United States. 

• Michael S. Chase, “China’s Search for a ‘New Type of Great Power Relationship’,” Jamestown Foundation China Brief, September 7, 2012. 

• Paul Mancinelli, “Conceptualizing ‘New Type Great Power Relations’: The Sino-Russian Model,” Jamestown Foundation China Brief, May 7, 2014.

• He Yafei, “Arrival of the ‘Post-American Era’,” China-U.S. Focus, August 21, 2017.