China's Peaceful Rise Identities, Interests, and Strategies

This book examines the extent to which China has stabilized its communist regime and defended or pursued its crucial nationalist interests while maintaining a relatively peaceful environment in East Asia. Despite a politics which would seem to be unassimilable and assertive policies regarding sovereignty disputes or the Taiwan question, China exists more or less peacefully within East Asia. This raises an important question: how has this being done? Using Social Identity Theory and Chinese Communist Party’s united front strategy, the author uncovers new angles on the mentality and trajectory of Chinese foreign policy, in a study that will interest scholars, policymakers and journalists.

Chapter 1 Introduction.- Part I: Analytical Framework.- Chapter 2: Social Identity Theory.- Chapter 3: United Front Strategy (UFS).- Part II: competition between China and the US/regional countries is inevitable.- Chapter 4: China’s nationalism and communist identity.- Part III: The CCP/China’s historical application of strategic management of identities/interests (1944-2009).- Chapter 5: CCP/China’s strategic management of identities and interests in Mao’s time (1944–1976).- Chapter 6: China’s Strategic Management of Identities and Interests in the defensive period (1978-2009).- Part IV: China’s strategic management in the stalemate period (2009–present).- Chapter 7: The stalemate period (1): Recentralizing the communist regime in the stalemate period.- Chapter 8: The stalemate period (2): China’s efforts to seek shared interests and identity with regional countries through Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).- Chapter 9: The stalemate period (3)—China’s effort to pursue its nationalist goals in a restrained way.- Part V: Case studies.- Chapter 10: China and the SCS disputes.- Chapter 11: Relations with Taiwan.- Chapter 12: Conclusion.

Le Hu received her Doctoral degree from the University of Leeds and is an assistant researcher at School of International Studies, Sichuan University. Her research focuses on the Sino-US power transition in East Asia, the Taiwan question, and China’s sovereignty disputes with other East Asian countries.