China’s Relations with Neighbors

China has a large number of neighboring countries, and its relations with them together with the situation of the neighborhood mean special and important interests for China. Given that, China has put its relations with neighboring countries in the first place in its foreign relations, and has put forward the basic concepts of developing relations with the neighboring countries, such as good neighborliness; good neighbors, good partners and good friends; forging friendship and partnership with neighbors; fostering an amicable, secure and prosperous neighborhood; harmonious neighborhood; amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness; and building a neighborhood community with a shared future, among others. All these concepts are rooted in China’s traditional philosophy and culture, and at the same time based on the new cognition and positioning of the development of today’s world.

Amid complex regional situation, it is not easy for China to facilitate the building of relations and order in the neighborhood featuring peace, cooperation and development. Having experienced difficult readjustment and restructuring since the end of WWII, the neighborhood order is gradually moving towards stability, peace and development. In general, China’s peripheral environment is improving. China’s relations with its neighboring countries are normalized, most of the problems left by history have been solved, and bilateral and multilateral relations aimed at cooperation have been developed. In particular, an economic network has been built for the interdependency among countries in the neighborhood. China has become the most important economic and trade partner for most neighboring countries and has built different forms of partnership with them. Consultation and cooperation have become the mainstream way to promote the development of bilateral and regional relations.

Nevertheless, under the restructuring of the international pattern and the pandemic, China’s surrounding areas have also undergone changes with new contradictions and challenges. Generally speaking, we need to observe and analyze the factors affecting the situation of the surrounding areas from a comprehensive perspective. These factors mainly fall into three categories, namely bilateral relations, sub-regional relations and extraterritorial forces, with different natures and impacts yet inter-related with one another.

Bilateral Relations: the Foundation

Although China enjoys an overall stable situation in terms of bilateral relations with its neighboring countries, some new changes have taken place in recent years. Some countries, while developing relations with China, have taken countermeasures against China and tried to build multiple check-and-balance mechanisms. Some even put more emphasis on preventing and restricting China.

As one of China’s neighbors, India puts its competition with China in a prominent position. As a result, India has increased its restrictions on China in its foreign policy. And it directly participates in the building of the U.S. strategic competition circle against China by actively supporting the latter’s Indo-Pacific Strategy and participating in the Quad mechanism of the United States, Japan, India and Australia. Under such circumstances, some bilateral contradictions between China and India rise from time to time. For example, the tension and even conflict between the two sides have emerged around the territorial dispute over the border, which has exerted an adverse impact on the development of bilateral relationship as well as regional stability.

Japan obviously tend to formulate its foreign policy to cope with China’s rise. On the one hand, Japan works more closely with the United States to build a multiple restraint mechanism based on comprehensive strategic competition with China and participates more actively and deeply in both security and economic mechanisms. On the other hand, Japan earnestly facilitates security cooperation with some countries and helps them enhance their so-called confronting ability, with a clear target at China. In particular, Japan’s provocation and involvement in the Taiwan question will inevitably affect the overall situation of the bilateral relationship.

On March 10th, 2022, the candidate of the People Power Party Yoon Suk-yeol was elected the new president of ROK. Different from the policy orientation of the Moon Jae-in administration, the new president not only expressed that he would strengthen ROK’s relationship with the United States, support the Indo-Pacific Strategy and take a tough policy toward DPRK but also claimed that he would not yield to the pressure when dealing with China. This may result in new variables in the China-ROK relations, which will affect the bilateral relations and may even trigger instability on the Korean Peninsula if handled improperly.

The relations of the new ROK administration with China still need further observation. There are three crucial factors. The first one is the interaction of interests with China. For ROK, China is not only a big neighboring country but also an indispensable and important market. The second one is to maintain the stability of the Peninsula. In the Korean Peninsula affairs, any radical confrontational measure that excludes China may have disastrous consequences. The third one is the relationship with the United States. Relying on the United States against China will damage China-ROK relations, which is not in the interest of the ROK.

As for China-India relations, although having big differences in politics, history, culture and other aspects, as well as the territorial disputes left over by history, the two countries are both major developing ones in today’s world sharing inherent interest links and the bottom line for maintaining the relationship. It is feasible for China and India to avoid confrontation and adhere to the general direction of dialogue and cooperation, which is in the interests of both sides.

Concerning China-Japan relations, while observing the contradictions, we should also see the overall situation. With shared interests, China and Japan need to maintain a stable relationship that is in the interests of both sides. Therefore, despite the complex relations, the window of dialogue, consultation and cooperation between the two sides has always remained open.

Sub-regional Relations: the Growth Points

The impact of sub-regions on China’s peripheral environment has increased, and the sub-regional cooperation has become an important factor in stabilizing the situation in the neighborhood and improving the peripheral environment. China has participated in different forms of all sub-regional cooperation mechanisms in the neighborhood, which allows China to no longer solely rely on bilateral relations for its relationship with the neighboring countries. China has joined the APEC, facilitated the founding of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), actively taken part in the ASEAN+3 (China, Japan and ROK), ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations and East Asia Summit, and taken a leading role in the feasibility study of the East Asia Free Trade Area, worked for the negotiation and effectiveness of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, participated and promoted the negotiation on China-Japan-ROK Dialogue Mechanism and free trade zone. China also actively participated in the ASEAN Regional Forum, the Asia-Europe Meeting and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, and took part in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation as an observer country. By participating in the above-mentioned sub-regional cooperation mechanisms, China on the one hand makes extensive consultation and joint contribution with relevant countries, and on the other hand, deepens relations and cooperation to build a peaceful and developing order in the neighborhood.

It is worth noting that the successful accomplishment of negotiation on RCEP and its entering into force on time has become a prominent achievement of deepening opening-up and cooperation in East Asia and has played a positive role in improving the peripheral environment.

By building a composite mechanism of member states, observer states and dialogue partners, the SCO has played an increasingly important role in stabilizing the regional situation and enhancing exchanges, understanding and cooperation among member states, becoming an important pillar for the sound development of the neighborhood. Although differing much from one another in development, these sub-regional cooperation mechanisms share one characteristic, that is, they are cooperation-oriented and do not engage in confrontational groups. Therefore, the development of sub-regional cooperation is a positive factor for China to build a good peripheral environment.

Disturbance from outside the region: unstable factors

The negative impact of the disturbance from outside the region represented by the United States on China’s surrounding areas continues to rise. Recent years have witnessed a major readjustment of the U.S. policy toward China. The Obama administration launched the Asia-Pacific Rebalancing strategy against China. The Trump administration adopted a confrontational policy consisting of sanctions, repression and containment against China, and launched the Indo-Pacific Strategy aimed at curbing China. After coming to power, Biden put forward a China policy featuring comprehensive strategic competition, mainly including restraining China’s development and competitiveness, taking more targeted measures restricting and containing China, selectively decoupling in science, technology and supply chain, expanding and enhancing the Indo-Pacific Strategy, formulating an Indo-Pacific Economic Framework excluding China, directing more countries to disturb in the South China Sea, instigating more countries to involve in the South China Sea, organizing large-scale military exercises, strengthening relations with countries in disputes with China, provoking the Taiwan question, and winning over allies to participate in expanding relations with the Taiwan authorities.

A series of U.S. policies and measures have exerted a great negative impact on China’s areas. The United States continues to build a so-called united front against China with the participation of its allies, quasi-allies and so-called reliable friendly countries, build technology and supply chain circles excluding China, and launch projects aimed at weakening China. The United States and its allies increase both assistance and pressure on countries around China to promote their support for or participation in the strategies, policies and actions of the United States and its allies towards China. Under those circumstances, even if most of China’s neighboring countries have refused to choose a side between China and the United States, it is difficult for them to get rid of the shadow of choosing a side in reality. With the disturbance of the United States and other forces from outside, some hot issues have heated up and contradictions become prominent, which has exerted a complex impact on China’s surrounding areas.

Three Levels in the New Era

We can proceed from three levels for an in-depth understanding and grasping of the relations between China and its neighboring countries. The first one is China’s relations with its neighboring countries, which refers to the definition of the relations and ways of developing them from China’s perspective. The second one is the relations of the neighboring countries with China, which refers to the definition of the relations and ways of developing them from the perspectives of the neighboring countries. The third one is China and its neighboring countries as an integration, which refers to a geographic area with shared interests in which China as an integral part coexists and develops together with its neighboring countries.

Firstly, the relations between China and its neighboring countries as well as ways of developing them are defined from China’s perspective. A significant change is that with the improvement of its comprehensive strength, China’s ability and influence to actively shape its relations with the neighboring countries and the peripheral environment have increased, and the cooperation and interaction between China and these countries have been strengthened. Taking the Belt and Road Initiative as an example, by making efforts in promotion and investment, China has been working with its neighboring countries to greatly improve the environment for development in the surrounding areas.

Secondly, China’s neighboring countries attach greater importance to the development of relations with China and take stabilizing and enhancing relations with China as the top priority. Although some countries have differences or disputes with China, they will try their best to maintain the overall stability in their relations with China in consideration of practical interests and long-term relations, particularly the common interests of economic and trade exchanges with China. Meanwhile, facilitating the development of sub-regional cooperation mechanisms and maintaining dialogue and cooperation with China are as well conducive to easing some tensions in bilateral relations. For instance, the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, and the China-ASEAN joint declaration on the South China Sea issue among others have all played a positive role in promoting the relations between ASEAN countries and China.

Thirdly, based on the two-way cognition of China and the neighboring countries, and the neighboring countries and China, the surrounding areas are integrated, in which, China and its neighboring countries coexist with and benefit each other. They are expected to create a regional environment favorable to all. Especially in the era of globalization and regionalization, the interests of China and its neighboring countries are more closely linked than ever before. As a result, there is an inherent common understanding and willingness to consult and cooperate in creating and maintaining a favorable regional environment. Each country also has a balanced choice based on its interests as well as the shared interests of the region with regard to the involvement of forces outside the region.

The region is neither closed nor exclusive. All countries have diverse external contacts. The involvement and intervention of forces outside the region also have various backgrounds, interests and ways. Therefore, the surrounding environment as a whole is driven and affected by complex factors. It needs both the self-discipline of all countries and coordination and joint efforts to avoid the overall surrounding environment being damaged or manipulated by certain forces. That can be achieved through bilateral mechanisms as well as consultation and collective action within sub-regional cooperation mechanisms.

There are many difficulties and challenges in promoting the building of a sustainable surrounding environment for peace and cooperation under the great changes unseen in a century. China should not only make tremendous efforts but also work together with its neighboring countries to gather consensus and take actions in the same direction in various ways. Creating and maintaining a favorable surrounding environment is of great significance not only for China to maintain and extend the period of strategic opportunity aimed at achieving the great rejuvenation of the nation but also for China to facilitate the development of more just and reasonable international relations and order. China’s neighboring countries have a direct perception of China’s road to peaceful development and China’s striving to be a new-type major country. Some neighboring countries are concerned that China as a country with rapidly rising comprehensive strength will expand its interests, strengthen its influence or use strong influence or even force to resolve disputes. Facing the different mentalities of its neighboring countries, China needs to enhance interaction and exchanges with those countries for better understanding and cooperation, to jointly promote the favorable development of the situation in the surrounding areas.

It is China’s long-term diplomatic agenda that regards the neighborhood as the priority, which means the priority in consideration, the priority in investment and the priority in handling. The recent years have witnessed the priorities China has put on its neighboring countries both in terms of foreign strategic layout and resource investment and in handling the state-to-state relations. China has put forward the Belt and Road Initiative, the Community with a Shared Future for Mankind and the establishment of multi-form cooperation mechanisms, which all start from the neighborhood and focus on the neighborhood. Although by no means tranquil and still with many hot issues, difficulties and dangers, the neighborhood situation has not reversed and the so-called China without friends has not appeared. China has both conviction and confidence to work with its neighboring countries to build a neighborhood featuring peace, cooperation and development. It’s needless to say that China should give full play to its role as a new-type major country in world affairs, especially be innovative in handling the relations with the neighboring countries and building the neighborhood order.

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Zhang Yunling is an Academy Member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and Director of Institute of International Studies of Shandong University