1st Edition
China’s Modern Economic Statecraft A Wealth-Power Dialectic
This compelling exploration delves into President Xi Jinping's ambitious efforts to restore China to its historical role as a global leader through innovative economic means. Bridging the philosophies of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, Xi's approach is a unique synthesis of Marxist-Developmentalist ideas, aiming to convert China's accumulated national wealth into great power status.
At the heart of this narrative is a wealth-power dialectic, shaping the performance and challenges of China's modern economic statecraft. The book chronicles the optimism of Xi's first term, the overreach and subsequent retrenchment of his second, all set against the backdrop of a slowing domestic economy and intensifying strategic competition with the United States. Despite these hurdles, the Chinese government continues to expand its arsenal of economic tools and initiatives, showcasing resilience and adaptability.
This book offers an insightful look into how Xi Jinping's tenure might be remembered as a pinnacle in China's Marxist-Developmentalist economic history. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the intricate strategies behind China's quest for global preeminence.
The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license.
List of Tables
Abstract
Acknowledgements
Introduction: China’s New Economic Statecraft in the Making
I. The Concept of “Major Country Economic Diplomacy”
II. China’s Major Country Economic Statecraft in the Making
(I) China’s Current National Conditions and Stage of Development
(II) China’s Regime Characteristics
(III) China's Civilizational Characteristics and Historical Depth
III. Major Challenges Preventing China from Practicing Great Power Economic Statecraft
IV. Structure of This Book
1. China’s Classic Economic Statecraft: Confucius-Mencius Philosophy
Table 1.1. The Historical Evolution of China’s Economic Statecraft
1.1 Classic Chinese Thoughts on Statecraft – Confucius-Mencius Philosophy
1.2 Confucius-Mencius Thoughts on Economic Statecraft
1.3 The Tribute System: China’s Classic Institution of Economic Statecraft
1.4 Historical Initiatives of China’s Economic Statecraft
1.5 Major Challenges for China’s Classic Economic Statecraft
2. China’s Contemporary Economic Statecraft: A Marxist -Developmentalist Synthesis
Table 2.1: China’s Economic Statecraft from Mao Zedong to Xi Jinping
2.1 Marxist Economic Statecraft: Mao Zedong’s Way
2.2 Developmentalist Economic Statecraft: Deng Xiaoping’s Way
2.3 A Continuation of Deng Xiaoping’s Way: Economic Statecraft of Jiang Zemin (1989-2002)
2.4 A Continuation of Deng Xiaoping’s Way: Economic Statecraft of Hu Jintao (2002-2012) 52
3. Hu Jintao’s Time: The Origin of China’s New Economic Statecraft
3.1 Rise of China’s Economy
3.2 Hu Jintao’s Developmentalist Economic Statecraft
3.3 Hu Jintao’s Efforts in Translating China’s Wealth to Global Influence
4. Xi Jinping’s New Economic Statecraft (2012-2017): Marxist -Developmentalist Synthesis based on Confucius-Mencius Philosophy
Table 4.1. List of regions, sectors, and financial commitments covered by China’s new economic diplomacy initiatives
4.1 Xi Jinping’s New Economic Statecraft (2012-2017): Marxist -Developmentalist Synthesis based on Confucius-Mencius Philosophy
4.1.1 Xi Jinping’s Developmentalist Approach to Economic Statecraft
4.1.2 Xi Jinping’s Marxist Approach to Economic Statecraft
4.1.3 Xi Jinping’s Historical Approach to Economic Statecraft Based upon Confucius-Mencius Philosophy
4.2 Xi Jinping’s Major-Country Diplomacy with Chinese Characteristics (2017-2022)
4.3 Xi Jinping’s Governance Revolution
5. Xi Jinping’s Economic Statecraft in the Era of Dramatic Changes Unseen in a Century (2018-2023)
5.1 China’s Diplomatic Confrontation with the West
5.2 China’s Strained Economy
5.3 Xi’s Economic Statecraft: Challenges, Retrenchment and Resilience
Conclusion: The Wealth-Power Dialectic: Fundamental to China's Economic Statecraft
I. Three Approaches of China’s Economic Statecraft
(I) Emperor Zhu Di’s Approach to Economic Statecraft
(II) Mao Zedong’s Approach to Economic Statecraft
(III) Deng Xiaoping’s Approach to Economic Statecraft
II. China’s Post-1978 Economic Statecraft Model: Marxist-Developmentalist Compromise
III. Xi Jinping’s Grand Synthesis: Marxist-Developmentalist Statecraft Enlightened by Confucius-Mencius
IV. Overstretch: The Biggest Challenge to Xi Jinping’s Major-Country Economic Statecraft
Biography
Zhang Xiaotong is a professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations, and Director of the China and Central Asia Studies Center at KIMEP University, Kazakhstan. He obtained his PhD in political science from the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) in Belgium.
