Navigating around the Chinese hegemon

Abstract

How a rising China will integrate itself with the global economic and political order is a salient issue in world politics. On the one hand, China's rejection of the South China Sea arbitration, its efforts to isolate Taiwan internationally and its willingness to work with controversial leadership in developing states indicate a more assertive 'China First' foreign policy. On the other hand, a review of a range of foreign policies suggests that Chinese policymakers have internalised a set of international norms in some areas even as the Chinese state has vigorously pursued unilateral foreign policy objectives.