Special Issue on "Rising China's Foreign Relations" - Guest Editor: Jean-Pierre Cabestan

CHINA IS REACHING OUT TO THE NEW WORLD:
Introduction to the Special Issue
- Jean-Pierre Cabestan (pp. 5 - 10)

EUROPEAN UNION-CHINA RELATIONS AND THE UNITED STATES
- Jean-Pierre Cabestan (pp. 11 - 38)

Spurred by a growing trade relationship as well as China's desire to build a more multipolar world and the EU's aspiration to play a more active and independent role in international affairs, the two sides have established a close economic and political partnership. However, the EU is a political body that is both complex and rather weak. The majority of EU member states continue to see the United States more as a close strategic partner than as a superpower that the EU should counterbalance. Moreover, the EU's relationship with China has become more difficult to handle due to a deepening trade deficit and lack of progress by China on human rights. Thus, the EU's China policy will remain based on the lowest common denominator of its member states' China policies, whereas its close military relations with the United States will probably continue to affect the strategic dimension of EU-China relations and negate the possibility of a genuine strategic triangle emerging. (Key words: Sino-European relations, EU foreign and security policy, NATO, EU-China trade, human rights)

COMPETENCE AND INCOMPETENCE: THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF CHINA'S RELATIONS WITH THE MIDDLE EAST
Yitzhak Shichor (pp. 39 - 67)

In Mao Zedong's years China's main interest in the Middle East had been to undermine the presence of foreign powers, considered a threat to its security. There had, however, been little that Beijing could have done as it lacked diplomatic relations, political influence, economic wealth and military capabilities. Since Mao's death China has gradually become more active economically with the Middle East, primarily as a labor and arms exporter and as an oil importer. Yet politically, Beijing still plays a marginal role in the Middle East, giving priority to stability, a precondition for economic growth, and implicitly, grudgingly, and perhaps temporarily accepting Washington's predominance in the region. Beijing's increasing economic power has not yet been translated into political effectiveness. (Key words: China-Middle East relations, Chinese foreign policy in the Middle East, Iran)

CHINA'S AFRICA POLICY: BUSINESS NOW, POLITICS LATER
- Michal Meidan (pp. 69 - 93)

For the last decade, and increasingly in the last three years, Chinese politicians and businessmen have been taking the African continent by storm. China's growing demand for raw materials has led it to closer involvement in the continent, balancing its growing trade deficit with exports of commodities and labor. But China has not neglected the ideological component of its African policy and is stressing South-South cooperation and promotion of a new world order; it is turning much of its investment aid to Africa, and unlike the West, investment aid from China comes with no political strings attached. The question that this article addresses is China's interest in and goals for its ties with Africa. Is China trying to consolidate a new world order, based on different moral values, conflicting with the current world order; or is China still a pragmatic actor, exploiting African resources in order to satisfy its growing demand for raw materials? (Key words: Chinese foreign policy in Africa, foreign investment in Africa)

RISING CHINA'S "OFFENSIVE" IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE U.S. REACTION
- Gonzalo S. Paz (pp. 95 - 112)

The year 2004 will be remembered as one in which an increasingly confident China jumped into Latin America, a geopolitical and geoeconomic space always considered by the United States as its "backyard." In 2005 and 2006 that policy continued and was sustained. The central questions addressed in this article are: Why is China executing an economic and diplomatic offensive in Latin America? Is a rising China challenging U.S. hegemony over the Western Hemisphere? And, how has the United States responded to these actions? The main argument advanced here is that there is an economic rationale behind China's new foreign policy toward Latin America, and that the theses about an ideological or a strategic rationale must be rejected. China's goal is to secure the provision of agricultural products, minerals, and especially oil. China is not trying to challenge American hegemony in Latin America, but it is the first Asian country to push enough to concern American analysts. The article will provide empirical evidence of the new level and quality of China-Latin America relations. (Key words: Chinese foreign policy in Latin America, economic development in China)

CHINA'S CHANGING POLITICAL ECONOMY WITH SOUTHEAST ASIA: STARTING A NEW PAGE OF ACCORD
- Samuel C. Y. Ku (pp. 113 - 140)

China was hostile to Southeast Asia in the 1950s and 1960s, but China's relations of political economy with its neighbors in the south have changed since the early 1980s, an evolution that has accelerated since the early 1990s. This article argues that the relationship is being pushed forward by three policy initiatives that started in the early 1980s: the open-door policy, the good neighbor policy, and the go-global strategy. It uses four indicators to examine China's changing relations with Southeast Asia: exchanges of visits among high-level officials, trade and investment, tourism, and China's linkages with ASEAN. The argument here is that China has changed its political economy not only with individual countries in Southeast Asia but also with the entire region. The article concludes that China's accord with Southeast Asia will continue if China sticks to its current policies toward this region. (Key words: China, Southeast Asia, China-ASEAN relations)

THE REVIVAL OF CHINESE NATIONALISM: PERSPECTIVES OF CHINESE INTELLECTUALS
- Lee Jung Nam (pp. 141 - 165)

This article examines how Chinese intellectuals understand mass nationalism in China. Understanding their perspective is useful when analyzing the meaning and repercussions of nationalist trends throughout the 1990s, as well as its future course. While playing a major role in its revival, Chinese intellectuals actually have a very pragmatic view of nationalism based on China's goal of building a prosperous and powerful nation. They also play a role in influencing public opinion and the government's policy-making process. In the short to mid term, the public expression of anti-U.S. or anti-Japanese sentiments through nationalism is not likely to become extreme, as this would run counter to China's current development strategies and goals. (Key words: nationalism, China, Sino-Japanese relations)

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