China's Global Activism Strategy, Drivers, and Tools

Chinese leaders are pursuing a long-term grand strategy based on maintaining a peaceful international environment that allows China to build the economic and technological foundations necessary to become a rich and powerful country. This strategy supports the Chinese leadership’s domestic objective of maintaining Communist Party rule by building an advanced economy and raising living standards. Chinese leaders are focused on domestic challenges and view continued rapid economic growth as essential to maintaining social stability. Despite fears of U.S. and Japanese hostile actions, they have repeatedly compromised on strategic issues as necessary to maintain economic growth. In practice, Chinese foreign policy reflects efforts to balance strategic and economic considerations and to coordinate the activities of diverse Chinese economic and political actors to advance national goals. Efforts to formulate coherent policy are impeded by bureaucratic and political conflicts of interest, while policy implementation is often hindered by incentives of Chinese actors to evade government directives that conflict with their interests. China’s increased global activism is intended to secure inputs for the economy; protect against a possible U.S. containment strategy; expand Chinese political influence; and pursue Chinese commercial interests. The timing and pattern of China’s increased activism in different regions has evolved along largely independent strategic and economic tracks.