| Publication |
2009.
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| Summary/Abstract |
This paper explores three dimensions of China's external relations. First, China can be viewed as a region-state, one in which scale and the diversity of the domestic political economy make it necessary to view the state as an interrelationship of parts even in its external relations. As a sovereign nation, China is a unitary actor unlike international regions, but it is not as uniform an actor as most other states. Second, China is a multi-regional power. Its relationships with the various international regions in which it is a major power are affected by the fact that it is not enclosed by a single region. Lastly, although China is not likely to be in the position of challenging the United States as a global great power in the foreseeable future, its stature as a global presence in a multi-nodal world is already assured. Its global foreign policy of multi-polarity is fundamentally shaped by its situation of being incapable of domination.
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