The world that China desires and is shaping, Pg6

Key Highlights:

• China is pursuing a strategy of "selective revisionism" in global governance, subtly reshaping the world order.
• Beijing released a white paper on global governance, presenting itself as a defender of the international system.
• China is a significant contributor to the UN budget and has established parallel institutions like the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and New Development Bank.
• China's four global initiatives—Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, Global Civilization Initiative, and Global Governance Initiative—aim to redefine international norms.
• This approach is contrasted with the perceived "destructiveness" of American foreign policy under Donald Trump.

Detailed Insights:

• China differentiates between the institutional and normative aspects of the international order.
• Institutionally, China supports existing frameworks like the UN and WTO, while building complementary platforms to expand its influence.
• Normatively, China seeks to redefine principles such as human rights, democracy, and sovereignty to align with its national interests.
• The Global Security Initiative (GSI) emphasizes "legitimate security concerns" to potentially dilute sovereign rights and weaken alliances.
• The Global Civilization Initiative (GCI) reinterprets universal values, potentially shielding authoritarian governance from external scrutiny.
• China's redefinition of democracy prioritizes "outcome-based" legitimacy over political participation or institutional accountability.
• China's actions in the South China Sea, border disputes, and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) show selective adherence to international norms.
• The article warns that this revisionism could erode sovereign equality, civil society, individual rights, and the rule of law.
• This shift gains prominence amidst perceived instability in US foreign policy, potentially making China's alternative more appealing.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Westphalian norms: Principles of state sovereignty and non-interference in the internal affairs of other states.
• Norm entrepreneurship: The process by which actors promote and institutionalize new norms in international relations.
• Institutional revisionism: Modifying existing international institutions or creating parallel ones to advance specific national interests.
• Selective revisionism: A strategy of maintaining useful international institutional architecture while altering its underlying normative foundations.