China’s Proactive Engagement in Asia: Economics, Politics and Interactions

Abstract

In the past decade, China has taken a proactive approach to engage its neighbours, in the political, economic, social, as well as security dimensions. This paper attempts to analyse the major factors behind this major policy reorientation. It discusses the impact of China’s prioritizing of its domestic economic development and the growth of the Chinese economy on its choice of regional policy. The paper also argues that strategic pressure from the United States in China’s peripheral regions have galvanized Beijing to go to great lengths to consolidate its strategic backyard. The “pull” effect from China’s neighbouring states is also analysed in detail. A central point discussed in this paper is that China’s regional policy is part of China’s grand strategy of ensuring its uninterrupted rise.