Goals of Chinese Foreign Policy
Although, China has undergone some radicial upheavals over the past two centuries, there are continuities within Chinese foreign policy that extent back to the Qing dynasty and the Opium Wars.

The goal of foreign policy within the People's Republic of China is to create a strong, powerful, and united China which is a great power within the world. Chinese foreign policy experts believe that in achieving this goal, they are not pursuing any hegemonic or war-like ambitions and are sometimes very perplexed that others may see China's ambitions in this way.

In sharp contrast to the former Soviet Union and the United States, Chinese foreign policy has not been devoted to advancing any higher international ideological interests such as world communism or freedom, and are generally cynical about the motives of nations, particularly the United States, who claim that they are motivated by higher goals such as spreading freedom and democracy. This cynicism often comes from Chinese actions in which ideology is secondary to advancing national interest. While this cynicism strikes many as selfish, others have pointed out that the selfish nature of Chinese foreign policy has made Chinese foreign policy extremely flexible and also prevents China from involving itself in the affairs of other nations on ideological grounds.

In much of the 20th century, Chinese foreign policy was based on a sense of victimhood and a determination to fight back perceived humilations. At the start of the 21st century, there appears to be a shift in Chinese foreign policy and calls from within China to abandon its victim mentality (shouhaizhe xintai) and recognized that with a generation of economic growth, that China has begun to fulfil its ambitions of becoming a great power and should adopt a great power mentality (daguo xintai) to use its power responsibly and optimistically. These ideas form part of the new security concept which is China's vision for the post-Cold War in which nations interact economically and diplomatically for mutual benefit and avoid forming exclusive alliance blocs.

Institutions of Chinese Foreign Policy
Like most other nations, the formal foreign policy of the PRC is carried out by the Foreign Ministry of the People's Republic of China. However, the Foreign Ministry is in practice subordinate to the Foreign Affairs Leading Small Group of the Communist Party of China.

Unlike most other nations, much of Chinese foreign policy is formulated in thinkanks sponsored and supervised by, but formally outside of the government. One distinctive aspect of Sino-American relations is that much of the foreign policy discussion takes place between interlocutors who from the thinktanks. Because these discussions are unofficial, they are generally more free and less restricted than discussions between government officials.

China is also distinctive for having a separate body of Chinese strategic thought and theory of internatinal relations which is distinct from Western theories.

History of Chinese Foreign Policy

Imperial China
In pre-Modern times, the theory of foreign relations of China was that China was the center of civilization of the world, and the Chinese emperor was the leader of the civilized world. This political theory was largely accepted in East Asia, even when as in the Song Dynasty, it did not accord with actual power relationships.

The first diplomatic contact between China and the West occurred in 1665, when Russian explorers met the Manchus in what is today northeastern China. Using the common language of Latin, which the Chinese knew from Jesuit missionaries, the Chinese emperor and Russian tsar negotiated the Treaty of Nerchinsk in 1689, which deliniated the border between Russia and China, some of which exists to this day.

This view of the world changed radically during the Qing dynasty after the Opium War, when China had to face the realities of its weakness and European strength. During the latter half of the 19th century, China quickly learned the subtleties of European displomacy.

Although China's long term goal through this period was to regain its former stature, its short term goal was simply to survive. Possessing a weak army, it resorted to using international law and conflict between the different European nations to maintain a tenuous self-existence.

Communist China
Since its establishment, the People's Republic of China (PRC) has worked vigorously to win international support for its position that it is the sole legitimate government of all China, including Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. Until the early 1970s, the Republic of China government in Taipei was recognized diplomatically by most world powers and the UN. After the Beijing government assumed the China seat in the United Nations in 1971 (and the ROC government was booted out) and became increasingly more significant as a global player, most nations switched diplomatic relations from the Republic of China to the People's Republic of China. Japan established diplomatic relations with the PRC in 1972, following the Joint Communique of the Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China, and the United States did so in 1979. The number of countries that have established diplomatic relations with Beijing has risen to 163, while 27 maintain diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (on Taiwan).

Both the PRC and ROC make it a prerequisite for diplomatic relations that a country does not recognize and conduct any official relations with the other party.

After its founding, the PRC's foreign policy initially focused on solidarity with the Soviet Union and other communist countries. In 1950, the PRC sent the People's Liberation Army into North Korea as "volunteers" to help North Korea halt the UN offensive that was approaching the Yalu River. After the conclusion of the Korean conflict, the PRC sought to balance its identification as a member of the Soviet bloc by establishing friendly relations with Pakistan and Third World countries, particularly in Southeast Asia.

In the 1960s, Beijing competed with Moscow for political influence among communist parties and in the developing world generally. Following the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia and clashes in 1969 on the Sino-Soviet border, Chinese competition with the Soviet Union increasingly reflected concern over China's own strategic position.

In late 1978, the Chinese also became concerned over Vietnam's efforts to establish open control over Laos and Cambodia. In response to the Soviet-backed Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia, the PRC fought a brief border war with Vietnam (February-March 1979) with the stated purpose of "teaching Vietnam a lesson."

Chinese anxiety about Soviet strategic advances was heightened following the Soviet Union's December 1979 invasion of Afghanistan. Sharp differences between the PRC and the Soviet Union persisted over Soviet support for Vietnam's continued occupation of Cambodia, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and Soviet troops along the Sino-Soviet border and in Mongolia--the so-called "three obstacles" to improved Sino-Soviet relations.

In the 1970s and 1980s the PRC sought to create a secure regional and global environment for itself and to foster good relations with countries that could aid its economic development. To this end, the PRC looked to the West for assistance with its modernization drive and for help in countering Soviet expansionism, which it characterized as the greatest threat to its national security and to world peace.

The PRC maintained its consistent opposition to "superpower hegemonism," focusing almost exclusively on the expansionist actions of the Soviet Union and Soviet proxies such as Vietnam and Cuba, but it also placed growing emphasis on a foreign policy independent of both the U.S. and the Soviet Union. While improving ties with the West, the PRC continued to follow closely economic and other positions of the Third World Non-Aligned Movement, although the PRC was not a formal member.

In the immediate aftermath of Tiananmen crackdown in June 1989, many countries reduced their diplomatic contacts with the PRC as well as their economic assistance programs. In response, the PRC worked vigorously to expand its relations with foreign countries, and by late 1990, had reestablished normal relations with almost all nations. Following collapse of the Soviet Union in late 1991, the PRC also opened diplomatic relations with the republics of the former Soviet Union.

Modern foreign policy
In recent years, communist Chinese leaders have been regular travelers to all parts of the globe, and the PRC has sought a higher profile in the UN through its permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council and other multilateral organizations. Closer to home, the PRC has made efforts to reduce tensions in Asia; it has contributed to stability on the Korean Peninsula, cultivated a more cooperative relationship with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Brunei, Myanmar, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam), and participated in the ASEAN Regional Forum.

China has improved ties with Russia, President Putin and President Jiang, in large part to serve as a counterbalance to the United States, a Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in July 2001. The two also joined with the Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan to found the Shanghai Cooperation Organzatin (SCO) in June 2001. The SCO is designed to promote regional stability and cooperate to combat terrorism in the region.

The PRC has a number of border and maritime disputes, including with Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin, with a number of countries in the South China Sea, as well as with Japan and India. Beijing has resolved many of these disputes, notably including a November 1997 agreement with Russia that resolved almost all outstanding border issues and a 2000 agreement with Vietnam to resolve some differences over their maritime border, though disagreements remain over islands in the South China Sea.

During the late 1990's and early 21st century, Chinese foreign policy appeared to be focused at improving relations with Russia and Europe in order to counterbalance the United States. This strategy was based on the premise that the United States was a declining power whose influence could be checked through alliances with second tier powers such as Russia or the European Union. This assessment of United States power was reconsidered after the United States intervention in Kosovo, and as the 20th century drew to a close, the discussion among thinkanks in China involved how to reorient Chinese foreign policy in a unipolar world. This discussion also occurred in the context of China's new security concept which argued that the post-Cold War required nations to move away from thinking in terms of alliances and power blocs and toward thinking in terms of economic and diplomatic cooperation.

The shift away from a balancing strategy could be seen in China's actions after the September 11 terrorist attack, the united States invasion of Irag, and the accession of Hu Jintao. Although there were some initial fears that American intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq would lead to an increase in American power and the encirclement of China, the actual consequence was a shift in focus by the United States to the Middle East, which resulted in a desire not to be have crises in East Asia. After the September 11, the blue team in the United States which argued that China was the largest security threat to the United States, becoming much more strongly muted.

China was instrumental at brokering talks with North Korean over its nuclear program, and in 2003, there was a concerted effort by China to improve relations with the ASEAN nations and form an East Asian common market. These foreign policy efforts have been part of a general foreign policy initiative known as China's peaceful rise.

Much of the new diplomatic activity appears to be the result of a change in China's self-image. With the accession of the fourth generation of Chinese leaders, China appears to be seeing itself less as a victimized developing nation, but rather more as an assertive but responsible great power.

International disputes

• Claims Taiwan, but the Republic of China exercises sovereignty and also claims the mainland;
• Boundary with India in dispute; see Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh
• Dispute over at least two small sections of the boundary with Russia remain to be settled, despite 1997 boundary agreement;
• Portions of the boundary with Tajikistan are indefinite;
• 33-km section of boundary with North Korea in the Baitou Mountain (Paektu-san) area is indefinite;
• Involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei;
• Maritime boundary dispute with Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin;
• Paracel Islands occupied by the PRC, but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan;
• Claims Japanese-administered Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku Islands/Diaoyu Tai), as does Taiwan;
• Agreement on land border with Vietnam was signed in December 1999, but details of alignment have not yet been made public

Illicit drugs: major transshipment point for heroin produced in the Golden Triangle; growing domestic drug abuse problem