The metmorphosis of China in the last few decades of its imperial history was both momentous and ... more The metmorphosis of China in the last few decades of its imperial history was both momentous and sweeping. Seventy years after the impact of European expansion was first seriously felt, the Middle Kingdom — a universal empire — was replaced by a nation-state, the first republic in Asia. This signified the total collapse of the traditional Chinese world order which had to give way to the European-defined international order of modern times. In the confrontation of the two civilizations, the Chinese civilization, of which China had been so proud, had to adapt itself and adopt some Western institutions such as, for example, those elaborated in international law for the conduct of relations between modern states. It was a gradual and sometimes painful process to transform the old Confucian Empire so as to be accepted by the European international system. In this way, China, half reluctantly and half willingly, was put into the framework of the European international system.
This is a series of solicited articles requested by the editors of Vol. 51, emerging from a round... more This is a series of solicited articles requested by the editors of Vol. 51, emerging from a roundtable discussion held at the 2022 International Studies Association Convention. Each short contribution seeks to demonstrate the newest research of the English School of International Relations. These contributions tackle key questions including: the decline of liberal hegemony, the rise of China, the divide between soldaristic and pluralistic ethics, the engagement of the English School with Area Studies, theoretical approaches to grounding English School research and an investigation of the English School’s intellectual legacy. Section spéciale École anglaise
China’s trading companies, as discussed in Chapter 4, are one of the major forces among Chinese f... more China’s trading companies, as discussed in Chapter 4, are one of the major forces among Chinese firms engaging in transnational operations and outward investment. The original twelve national trading corporations were among the very first to internationalise. When China started opening up in 1978, these twelve firms were of comparatively large size in terms of their annual turnover. They also possessed undeniable advantages (in comparison with other Chinese firms) in engaging the international markets. They were clearly among a very small number of Chinese firms that had expertise in importing and exporting, and knowledge of the international market with existing contacts and a client base. Their monopolist position in respective lines of trade, though geared to fulfil government import and export plans, put them in an advantageous position to exploit the opportunities offered by China’s changing development strategy increasingly oriented towards export-led growth. In subsequent yea...
This article investigates the entanglement of the rising Chinese power with the liberal global or... more This article investigates the entanglement of the rising Chinese power with the liberal global order in negotiating for normative change. Drawing upon the English School theoretical perspective, it argues that three hierarchical constructs of liberal persuasion co-exist in and cohabit the global international society today. They are, namely, the legalized hegemony as seen in the UN Charter-based liberal pluralism; the changing normative order of emerging solidarist and anti-pluralist formation that purposively creates unequal sovereigns; and the liberal global governance order that moves predominantly in the direction of state-centric solidarism. As an emerging power with an authoritarian regime, China's entanglement with these liberal hierarchical constructs is multifaceted with complex dynamics. The article argues specifically that three differentiated strategic approaches have been developed by China in this entanglement: to defend liberal pluralism in the legalized hegemony; to contest liberal cosmopolitan anti-pluralism in the changing normative order; and to endorse state-centric solidarism with regard to the construction of a liberal global governance order. If they reflect a rising China's preferences of order construction, they also constitute an important part of China's engaging negotiations for normative change in international society. The agency China exercises in this regard helps explain the limited consensus among Great Powers as to the ‘central direction’ for the evolving global order. The preferences of China as the second among equals in the Great Power club matter greatly in understanding the contention between pluralism and solidarism in the changing raison de systeme of contemporary global international society.
International Relations (IR) first emerged as an autonomous academic discipline in the PRC in the... more International Relations (IR) first emerged as an autonomous academic discipline in the PRC in the early 1980s. Over the past two decades, it has grown, in spite of severe political inhibitions and ideological constraints, into a vigorous field. China can now boast one of the largest IR epistemic communities in the world in terms of numbers of students, faculties, research centres, policy analysts and practitioners. Increasingly intense discussion about international relations has been taking place among Chinese scholars and those beyond Chinese borders, particularly with the rise in China's power over the past decade.'
At the 1988 Cyril Foster Memorial Lecture, Sir Geoffrey Howe, then the British Foreign Secretary,... more At the 1988 Cyril Foster Memorial Lecture, Sir Geoffrey Howe, then the British Foreign Secretary, spoke of China’s ‘rejoining the rest of the world’.1 To characterise the process of China’s integration into international society in the 1980s as a process of ‘rejoining’ the world, however, begs three general assumptions. First, China had been a member of international society; second, there was a period when China was ostracised; and third, China is being reintegrated into the contemporary universal society of states. All three assumptions are to be examined rigorously. This inquiry starts with a review of the historical process through which China was drawn into the universal international society.
The central argument of this study is essentially a simple one. The international relations of th... more The central argument of this study is essentially a simple one. The international relations of the People’s Republic of China is a saga of the isolation-alienation-socialisation-integration of China in international society since 1949. This saga is the continuation of a historical search by both China and the wider world for mutual accommodation. It is still unfolding. Hedley Bull once argued that international society is ‘one of the basic elements at work in international politics’.1 David Lampton remarked recently that ‘a central difficulty in China’s foreign relations has been that of reconciling the seeming imperatives of the international system with the Middle Kingdom’s own traditions, self image and desire to modernise.’2 An understanding of this evolving saga is, therefore, indispensable to our comprehension of China in world politics since 1949, and, more broadly, of what Fairbank calls ‘the great Chinese revolution’ in the last fifty years.3
Two main factors combined, the unprecedented globalisation of the world economy and the momentous... more Two main factors combined, the unprecedented globalisation of the world economy and the momentous economic reforms in China, are most responsible for the fundamental economic transformations in China since 1978. These two factors, one endogenous and the other exogenous to the Chinese economy, have also facilitated the emergence and evolution of China’s global businesses. This chapter explores a particular aspect of the endogenous factor and examines specifically the dynamics at the interface between Chinese economic reform and the internationalisation of the Chinese state. A number of questions need to be addressed here. Why does internationalisation exert such a strong influence on economic reform in China? How does economic reform promote the internationalisation of the Chinese state? In what sense can economic reform be seen as a process of China’s internalising norms, institutions and accepted practices of the world economy? In what way can we interpret this internalisation as C...
The metmorphosis of China in the last few decades of its imperial history was both momentous and ... more The metmorphosis of China in the last few decades of its imperial history was both momentous and sweeping. Seventy years after the impact of European expansion was first seriously felt, the Middle Kingdom — a universal empire — was replaced by a nation-state, the first republic in Asia. This signified the total collapse of the traditional Chinese world order which had to give way to the European-defined international order of modern times. In the confrontation of the two civilizations, the Chinese civilization, of which China had been so proud, had to adapt itself and adopt some Western institutions such as, for example, those elaborated in international law for the conduct of relations between modern states. It was a gradual and sometimes painful process to transform the old Confucian Empire so as to be accepted by the European international system. In this way, China, half reluctantly and half willingly, was put into the framework of the European international system.
This is a series of solicited articles requested by the editors of Vol. 51, emerging from a round... more This is a series of solicited articles requested by the editors of Vol. 51, emerging from a roundtable discussion held at the 2022 International Studies Association Convention. Each short contribution seeks to demonstrate the newest research of the English School of International Relations. These contributions tackle key questions including: the decline of liberal hegemony, the rise of China, the divide between soldaristic and pluralistic ethics, the engagement of the English School with Area Studies, theoretical approaches to grounding English School research and an investigation of the English School’s intellectual legacy. Section spéciale École anglaise
China’s trading companies, as discussed in Chapter 4, are one of the major forces among Chinese f... more China’s trading companies, as discussed in Chapter 4, are one of the major forces among Chinese firms engaging in transnational operations and outward investment. The original twelve national trading corporations were among the very first to internationalise. When China started opening up in 1978, these twelve firms were of comparatively large size in terms of their annual turnover. They also possessed undeniable advantages (in comparison with other Chinese firms) in engaging the international markets. They were clearly among a very small number of Chinese firms that had expertise in importing and exporting, and knowledge of the international market with existing contacts and a client base. Their monopolist position in respective lines of trade, though geared to fulfil government import and export plans, put them in an advantageous position to exploit the opportunities offered by China’s changing development strategy increasingly oriented towards export-led growth. In subsequent yea...
This article investigates the entanglement of the rising Chinese power with the liberal global or... more This article investigates the entanglement of the rising Chinese power with the liberal global order in negotiating for normative change. Drawing upon the English School theoretical perspective, it argues that three hierarchical constructs of liberal persuasion co-exist in and cohabit the global international society today. They are, namely, the legalized hegemony as seen in the UN Charter-based liberal pluralism; the changing normative order of emerging solidarist and anti-pluralist formation that purposively creates unequal sovereigns; and the liberal global governance order that moves predominantly in the direction of state-centric solidarism. As an emerging power with an authoritarian regime, China's entanglement with these liberal hierarchical constructs is multifaceted with complex dynamics. The article argues specifically that three differentiated strategic approaches have been developed by China in this entanglement: to defend liberal pluralism in the legalized hegemony; to contest liberal cosmopolitan anti-pluralism in the changing normative order; and to endorse state-centric solidarism with regard to the construction of a liberal global governance order. If they reflect a rising China's preferences of order construction, they also constitute an important part of China's engaging negotiations for normative change in international society. The agency China exercises in this regard helps explain the limited consensus among Great Powers as to the ‘central direction’ for the evolving global order. The preferences of China as the second among equals in the Great Power club matter greatly in understanding the contention between pluralism and solidarism in the changing raison de systeme of contemporary global international society.
International Relations (IR) first emerged as an autonomous academic discipline in the PRC in the... more International Relations (IR) first emerged as an autonomous academic discipline in the PRC in the early 1980s. Over the past two decades, it has grown, in spite of severe political inhibitions and ideological constraints, into a vigorous field. China can now boast one of the largest IR epistemic communities in the world in terms of numbers of students, faculties, research centres, policy analysts and practitioners. Increasingly intense discussion about international relations has been taking place among Chinese scholars and those beyond Chinese borders, particularly with the rise in China's power over the past decade.'
At the 1988 Cyril Foster Memorial Lecture, Sir Geoffrey Howe, then the British Foreign Secretary,... more At the 1988 Cyril Foster Memorial Lecture, Sir Geoffrey Howe, then the British Foreign Secretary, spoke of China’s ‘rejoining the rest of the world’.1 To characterise the process of China’s integration into international society in the 1980s as a process of ‘rejoining’ the world, however, begs three general assumptions. First, China had been a member of international society; second, there was a period when China was ostracised; and third, China is being reintegrated into the contemporary universal society of states. All three assumptions are to be examined rigorously. This inquiry starts with a review of the historical process through which China was drawn into the universal international society.
The central argument of this study is essentially a simple one. The international relations of th... more The central argument of this study is essentially a simple one. The international relations of the People’s Republic of China is a saga of the isolation-alienation-socialisation-integration of China in international society since 1949. This saga is the continuation of a historical search by both China and the wider world for mutual accommodation. It is still unfolding. Hedley Bull once argued that international society is ‘one of the basic elements at work in international politics’.1 David Lampton remarked recently that ‘a central difficulty in China’s foreign relations has been that of reconciling the seeming imperatives of the international system with the Middle Kingdom’s own traditions, self image and desire to modernise.’2 An understanding of this evolving saga is, therefore, indispensable to our comprehension of China in world politics since 1949, and, more broadly, of what Fairbank calls ‘the great Chinese revolution’ in the last fifty years.3
Two main factors combined, the unprecedented globalisation of the world economy and the momentous... more Two main factors combined, the unprecedented globalisation of the world economy and the momentous economic reforms in China, are most responsible for the fundamental economic transformations in China since 1978. These two factors, one endogenous and the other exogenous to the Chinese economy, have also facilitated the emergence and evolution of China’s global businesses. This chapter explores a particular aspect of the endogenous factor and examines specifically the dynamics at the interface between Chinese economic reform and the internationalisation of the Chinese state. A number of questions need to be addressed here. Why does internationalisation exert such a strong influence on economic reform in China? How does economic reform promote the internationalisation of the Chinese state? In what sense can economic reform be seen as a process of China’s internalising norms, institutions and accepted practices of the world economy? In what way can we interpret this internalisation as C...
Uploads
Papers by Yongjin Zhang