Columbia International Affairs Online: Working Papers

CIAO DATE: 05/2014

Taking off as a Global Power? China's Foreign Policy "Grand Strategy"

Sven Bernhard Gareis

April 2013

George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies

Abstract

Carried on the wings of its continuing economic success, China has opted for a more comprehensive, self-confident, proactive, and often tougher approach in its foreign policy at the regional as well as at the global level. The question is no longer if but how China will make its way to the top and become a truly global power. So, what is to be expected of China in the future? This paper offers a systematic look at the essential preconditions, goals, and approaches of China’s “grand strategy” that may help to answer this question and lead to conclusions about where the country is going in the international system.