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Xi Jinping's Operational Code Beliefs and China's Foreign Policy

Bibliographic Data

ID12907313
AuthorsKai He (0000-0003-2335-7638, corresponding author), Hanying Feng
Year2013
Volume6
Issue3
Pages209-231
Publication date2013-06-07
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Chinese Journal of International Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1750-8916 • E-ISSN: 1750-8924
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1093/cjip/pot010
OpenAlexW2143419784
LanguageEN
Citations received29
References cited2

What will China’s foreign policy be under Xi Jinping, the new Chinese leader in Beijing? Will Xi follow Hu Jintao—his predecessor—or change the course of China’s foreign policy orientation in the next decade? Engaging in the current debates over rising China’s foreign policy and its implications for regional security, we suggest ‘bringing the leaders back in’ for a study of China’s foreign policy under Xi. We apply operational code analysis, a political psychology approach, to examine the differences and similarities of Xi and Hu’s belief systems. We suggest that Xi shares Hu’s philosophical and instrumental beliefs, which implies more continuities than changes in China’s foreign policy under Xi. In addition, Hu and Xi share similar cooperative worldviews, but the latter’s strategy tends to be more assertive. This suggests that although Xi is a status quo leader, optimistic about the existing international system, he may adopt an assertive foreign policy to achieve his strategic goals if external pressure grows too great. Other states, especially the United States, need to review and revise their foreign policy on China should they have adopted, or intend to adopt, a containment policy towards the PRC, because although a rising China may not be a threat, an angry China indeed will be

Assertiveness · Beijing · China · Foreign policy · Grand strategy · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Status quo · China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance · International Relations and Foreign Policy · Law · Political Conflict and Governance · Psychology · Social Psychology

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Unique citing works29
Citations per year2,42
Citation span2014 - 2025 (12)
Citation velocityrecent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 28
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