1Center or American Progress | China and the Collapse o Its Noninterventionist Foreign Policy
China and the Collapse of ItsNoninterventionist Foreign Policy
Past Diplomatic Practices Collide with Rising Economicand Political Realities
Ken Sofer March 8, 2012
Introduction
In a move ha sparked inernaional condemnaion and anger, China and Russia onFebruary 4 veoed a U.N. Securiy Council resoluion condemning he Syrian gov-ernmen’s brual crackdown on anigovernmen proesors. Reecing widespreadsenimen, Secreary o Sae Hillary Clinon said, “Wha happened yeserday ahe Unied Naions was a ravesy .”
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Ou on he srees Syrian and Libyan proesersresponded o he veo by spraying grai on he walls o and hrowing rocks and eggsa he Chinese Embassy in Libya.
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Chinese diplomas view heir veo o he Syria resoluion as par o heir long-sand-ing oreign policy principle o “non-inererence in oher counry’s inernal aairs”( bu ganshe neizheng).
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Since he 1950s his principle helped China mainain a low prole on he global sage, economize on miliary spending, maximize he resourcesdireced oward domesic economic growh, and build oreign policy relaionships wih a wide variey o regime ypes.imes are changing, however, and in recen years noninererence is jus as likely o bringmajor inernaional condemnaion—no only rom he Wesern powers, bu also romhe ciizens o developing naions ha would radiionally have suppored his approach.Te primary reason or his shif is China’s economic expansion. Chinese companies areinerering in oher counries as never beore—pulling Beijing ino relaions wih requenly unsable regimes around he world—which oday pis China’s radiional oreign policy principle o noninervenion agains he realiy o is economic ineress in he 21s cenury.How will Chinese oreign policy change as a resul o hese new ensions? Tis issue brie examines specic insances abroad where Chinese acions or invesmens are causing he breakdown o he naion’s once-deermined noninervenionism. We hen look a he
2Center or American Progress | China and the Collapse o Its Noninterventionist Foreign Policy
pressure o change is oreign policy in more deail—boh wihin China and around he world—beore skeching ou where we hink China may end up in he coming years.
The history of China’s noninterventionist foreign policy
Te principle o noninervenion in he domesic aairs o oher naions daes back ohe 1950s, when China’s revoluionary zeal and rm posiion in he communis bloclef i acing an increasingly hosile inernaional environmen. Foreign policy en-sions drained resources, wheher in he orm o wars or he limiaions on economicineracion wih is noncommunis neighbors. Chinese leaders responded wih a new sraegy ha would allow hem o economize hose resources and ocus on inernaldevelopmen. China began o build parners wihin he global nonaligned movemen by promoing noninervenion in he domesic aairs o oher naions—in sark conraso he Sovie Union’s saed policy o inernaionalizing he socialis revoluion or America’s saed policy o promoing democraic movemens worldwide.Noninervenionism ook on new imporance under Deng Xiaoping beginning in helae 1970s because o Deng’s emphasis on a“low prole” oreign policy so ha Chinacould ocus exclusively on inernal economic developmen.
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Chinese leaders elha an over-engaged oreign policy could hamper China’s economic needs by eiherresricing he counry rom key rading parners or by prioriizing miliary spend-ing over economic invesmen. Indeed, many emerging economic powers, includingIndia, Brazil, Souh Arica, and, up unil he Arab Spring, urkey,adoped noniner- venionis policies or similar reasons.
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China’s noninervenion principle also serves he domesic poliical ineress o heChinese Communis Pary. Te Chinese governmen is an auhoriarian regime isel,and i is own ciizens rise up in regime-hreaening mass proess, hen i does no wanoreign governmens inervening in is domesic aairs and using sancions or oherinernaional policy levers o make i harder or Beijing o mainain inernal cohesionand conrol. Chinese leaders used he same noninervenion language o criicize heinernaional sancions ha ollowed he 1989 iananmen proess. Deng Xiaopingresponded o pos-iananmen sancionsby saing ha oreign governmens “were noqualied o punish China” or he iananmen crackdown, and ha Chinese leaders“would never permi oher counries o inerere in China’s inernal aairs.”
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More recenly, Chinese leaders have used his same language when warning he UniedSaes no o inerere in ibe, Xinjiang, or aiwan. A Chinese Foreign Minisry spokes-man reerred o a U.S. law promoing inernaional religious reedom, seemingly ar-geed a Chinese crackdowns in ibe, as “ wanon inererence in China’s inernal aairs under he preex o religious reedom.”
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Similarly, Chinese Vice Foreign Miniser Zhang
3Center or American Progress | China and the Collapse o Its Noninterventionist Foreign Policy
Zhijun reerred o Presiden Barack Obama’sdecision o upgrade aiwanese F-16 gher jesas “a serious inervenion in he inernal aairs o China.”
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For he mos par his approach has enabled Chinese leaders o keep a low-proleoreign policy and o avoid he diplomaic dispues and resource-draining conics harequenly characerized Wesern and Sovie oreign policy during he Cold War. As a permanen member on he U.N. Securiy Council, China has generally opposedinervenions, bu ried o do so quiely by absaining insead o by veoing inernaionalacion. Te recen Syria voe was only he eighh ime since he People’s Republic o China joined he U.N. Securiy Council in 1971 ha China used is veo power, as com-pared o 123 imes or he Sovie Union/Russia and 82 imes or he Unied Saes.
China’s rising economic engagement abroad makes noninterferenceproblematic
Chinese economic developmen surged over he pas 30 years, leading is business com-muniies—sae-owned enerprises and privae companies alike—o expand more andmore ino he global economy as par o he Communis Pary’s “going ou” sraegy , which encourages inernaional invesmen by Chinese companies.
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Amid his chang-ing realiy, China atemped o mainain is radiional policy o diplomaic and miliary noninervenion—even as Chinese businesses engaged in greaer economic inerven-ion in he very same areas where he inernaional communiy seeks o poliically ormiliarily inervene. Tese economic ineress may orce China o rehink he wisdom o a noninervenion policy in he long erm as i becomes more dicul o mainain.Since he economically reorm-minded Deng Xiaoping assered conrol over heChinese leadership in he lae 1970s, China’s gross domesic produc—he larges mea-sure o all goods and services produced in China—has grownrom $148 billion in 1978
FIGURE 1
China’s U.N. Security Council vetoes
2012
Condemnation o Syrian human rights abuses
2011
Sanctions against Syria
2008
Sanctions against Zimbabwe
2007
Condemnation o Myanmar’s human rights abuses
1999
Extension o U.N. peacekeeping operation in Macedonia
1997
Establishment o U.N. peacekeeping operation in Guatemala
1972
Admission o Bangladesh to the United Nations
1972
Resolution on ceasefre or Yom Kippur War
Source: United Nations Bibliographic Information System
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China and the Collapse of Its Noninterventionist Foreign Policy
Ken Sofer explains why China's long-standing noninterventionist foreign policy strategy is changing with China's rising economic and political realities.
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