China's Normative Foreign Policy and Its Multilateral Engagement in Asia

This paper focuses on the normative aspect of Chinese foreign policy, whereby China strives to promote its norms, values, and rules in the international arena. Drawing on the relational theory of international politics, normative foreign policy (NFP) is re-conceptualized by addressing the ontological foundation of international relations. In this light, China's role as an NFP actor is elaborated, based on its cultural traditions and international experience. The paper argues that in contrast with the West's emphasis on substantive norms of universality, Chinese norms are relational; they stress the importance of creating and maintaining ties in international relations. Furthermore, through its international relations, China has implemented an implicit and explicit normative agenda as part of its foreign policy. To further elaborate on this argument, China's multilateral regional diplomacy towards its neighboring regions, in particular Central Asia, is considered. It is concluded that China's NFP both challenges and is challenged by other actors through their constant interaction. This finding has broad implications for contemporary international relations.