Introduction to the special issue on the comparative study of Asian countries’ bilateral relations with China

Abstract

How should the world deal with a rising China? This is perhaps the question of the century, which national leaders are facing and contemplating daily all around the world. For some, China has become the most important economic partner, whose loans, investments and markets prompt them to deepen friendly relations. Many countries have joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative with high expectations for the construction of infrastructure and other development projects. However, economic engagement can cause tension, since it usually entails the inflow of Chinese people as well as money into local societies and China has not shown any hesitation in employing economic coercion to achieve its political goals. The political opposition to the government tends to take advantage of the resultant anti-China sentiments among the local population. For other countries, China’s increasing military capabilities and especially its maritime expansion and assertive actions in disputed waters create a dilemma between rising security concerns and expanding business interests. The political, economic and security interests and concerns in each country’s bilateral relations with China are inevitably affected by the shift in the international environment, especially the state of US-China relations, as well as relations with neighbors and their own China policies. It seems likely that the competition between China and the United States will intensify in the foreseeable future, and few countries will escape its effects. We easily get the impression that many countries have gone through ups and downs in their relations with China. Probably this is truly so. However, is it the case that entire relationships go through cycles of improvement and deterioration, or only a part of them changes while other aspects remain stable or even develop in the opposite direction? For example, was it not a widely accepted perception at one point in time that “politics are cold but economics are hot in Japan-China relations”? In fact, it is not easy to define “bilateral relations” between countries, although they are discussed daily as if people have a common understanding of what this term means. Are we talking about diplomatic, government-to-government relations, or, are economic and people-to-people relations included? Government-to-government relations have different aspects, too. It is possible for economic and environmental or health ministers of two countries to conduct constructive dialogs while defense and foreign ministers are at each other’s throats. Bilateral relations with China are invariably complicated and multi-faceted.