Uncategorized - Decoding China

Democracy

BRIEF In the PRC, democracy refers to the Marxist-Leninist system of democratic dictatorship (人民民主专政) and democratic centralism (民主集中制), in which the CCP is the ultimate representative of the peoples. This political system of “socialist democracy with Chinese characteristics” is explicitly distinguished from Western liberal democracy, which is seen as incompatible with China’s unique conditions. While […]

Culture

BRIEF UNESCO defines culture broadly as “the set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features of society or a social group that encompasses, not only art and literature, but lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions and beliefs.” For the Chinese Communist Party, however, culture is first and foremost deeply political, one of […]

Cooperation

BRIEF “Building a new type of international relations featuring win-win cooperation” is the core of Xi Jinping’s thoughts on diplomacy. “Win-win cooperation” (合作共赢) is presented as an alternative to the prevailing “old” (i.e., Western-dominated) type of international relations, which top Chinese diplomats see as dominated by confrontational zero-sum game thinking and a Cold War mentality. […]

Civil Society

BRIEF Article 35 of the Chinese Constitution grants Chinese citizens the right to freedom of assembly and association. The language is strikingly similar to Article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which guarantees freedom of assembly and association, laying the foundation for the development of a civil society composed of non-governmental organisations. […]

Autonomy

Brief While the term “autonomy” lacks a generally accepted definition in international law, it is often understood as political or governmental autonomy, i.e., self-government or independence of action at the internal or domestic level. Through a compromise between the sovereign state and peoples who strive for self-determination, states may use autonomy arrangements to protect their […]

Aid

Brief In Europe, like in other major industrialised donor countries, aid is broadly understood as the transfer of resources from rich (donor) to poorer (developing) countries, with the aim of promoting social and economic development. A commonly held view is that aid should be charitable, or at least with a gift element, even though in […]

Introduction

INTERPRETING CHINA IN INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AND DIPLOMACY China has long abandoned its previous foreign policy of “keeping a low profile and biding one’s time”. Instead, it has become an active international actor and norm entrepreneur in the UN and at other multilateral fora. China’s new position as a major global power is having a profound […]

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