Yue Gao; Özge Söylemez; Yixiao Zheng
Yue Gao
SOAS, Masters in international politics
The transitional role of China in climate diplomacy from the late 1980s to 2018
Although China has a vast territory, it is also one of the most vulnerable countries in the ecological environment in the world. In particular, in recent years, global warming and the occurrence of extreme climate events have caused tremendous economic losses to our China and have undermined people's lives and property and become a threat to national security of China. The issue of climate change has gradually shifted to the political and economic level of the country and has become a political and economic issue that has witnessed mutual wrestling among nations on the current international diplomatic stage.
This paper will review the reaction of China in domestic and international aspects. The attitude of domestic government can be seen as a reflection of foreign climate diplomacy. In domestic aspects, the importance of addressing climate challenge has promoted in recent years. In international aspects, the diplomatic behavior of China also has changed. The role of China in the climate changes has changed from free-rider to leader within the period from the late of 1980s until today.
Based on the theory of national interest in the theory of international relations and combine with the development practice of China's climate diplomacy, this paper systematically reviews the development path of China's climate diplomacy and analyzes the internal and external factors that promote this process. The core of the thesis is: what is the trajectory of China's climate diplomacy? What is the reason? Finally, the paper briefly summarizes the experiences of China's climate diplomacy.
Özge Söylemez
King's College London, Year 2 PhD candidate in Chinese Studies
How does Turkey engage with China?: The Belt and Road Initiative as a Framework for Cooperation
Throughout the last decade, relations between China and Turkey have considerably improved. China has become Turkey’s number one import partner and its investments in Turkey since 2005 have reached 12 billion dollars in total. Furthermore, both Turkey and China have managed to maintain the progress in bilateral relations and alleviate tensions although the Uyghur minority continues to pose a hindrance in deepening relations.
This paper examines China’s political and economic engagement with Turkey over the last decade with a specific focus on the “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI). The paper will analyse how Beijing frames its relationship with Turkey as part of the BRI and how Turkey interprets this new framework. In this regard, the analysis will evaluate the significance of ‘connectivity’ with reference to the regional aspirations of both Turkey and China in the Mediterranean. The paper will be based on documentary analysis and will also outline future challenges and opportunities for Sino-Turkish relations.
Yixiao Zheng
London School of Economics, PhD in International Relations, Research Assistant, Department of International Relations
Rediscovering Continentalism: the BRI and Chinese Geostrategic Reorientation
This article assesses the geopolitical significance of China's Silk Road strategy by examining its relevance to the reorientation of Chinese geo-strategic posture that has been underway since the advent of the Xi Jinping era. It proposes that the Belt and Road Initiative, which fits into broader Chinese efforts to promote an expansionist design on the Eurasian continent and along its peripheral waters, indicates a continental shift in Chinese geostrategic approach. This emerging continental orientation, which is in keeping with Beijing's distinctly expansionist foreign policy line, is intended to provide a sense of direction for China's bid for regional primacy and global pre-eminence. It represents a momentous shift in China's geopolitical posture and spatial economic orientation, which, until recently, had remained heavily skewed towards the maritime direction in the east and the coastal regions. Yet, the rediscovery of continentalism constitutes not so much a complete reversal of Chinese geostrategic and spatial development priorities. Nor is it intended to supersede or conflict with Chinese maritime ambitions in the Pacific and the Indian Ocean. Rather, it is designed to rebalance what had hitherto been a largely lopsided geopolitical orientation and spatial development pattern by giving the necessary impetus to renew the Chinese outlook on the nation's geopolitical and development potential, while at the same time trying to achieve maximum synergy between continental and maritime expansion as China aspires to a position of both continental and maritime pre-eminence.