Product Description

China is commonly considered an emerging power in world affairs as increasingly confident Chinese leaders, backed by growing economic and military strength, engage in innovative diplomatic approaches that pave the way for China's international role. Yet, as Robert G. Sutter shows in this meticulous and balanced assessment, the record of twists and turns in Chinese foreign relations since the end of the Cold War highlights a very different perspective. Domestic problems, nationalism, and security concerns continue to preoccupy Beijing, complicating China's rise and innovations in foreign affairs. On the international front, the actions of other powerful nations and growing dependence on the world economy complicate as well as enhance Chinese efforts to exert international influence.

Providing a comprehensive introduction to Chinese foreign relations, Sutter shows Chinese leaders exerting growing influence in world affairs but remaining far from dominant. Facing numerous contradictions and tradeoffs, they move cautiously to avoid major confrontations, costly commitments, or mistakes that could undermine their one-party rule as they deal with an international environment posing numerous challenges as well as opportunities for Chinese interests.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1242656 in Books
• Published on: 2007-08
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

Review
For over three decades, Sutter worked to give the U.S. government accurate information about developments in Asia as the basis for its policymaking. Now out of government, he here demonstrates his formidable analytic skills for a wider audience, arguing that much of the debate about China's potential to become a superpower fails to take into account its domestic pressures. (Foreign Affairs )

Sutter's survey of Chinese foreign relations is the new standard-setter for the field. Integrating China's domestic concerns with shifting strategic perceptions and decision making processes, Sutter carefully outlines China's relations not only with the United States but with all regions of the world. His stress on the restraint of Chinese decision makers in dealing with the world is an important contribution and a welcome antidote to less-balanced views of China's rise. (John Garver )

Robert Sutter is one of America's foremost scholars on Chinese foreign policy. He has written a highly informative, knowledgeable, and timely book on an important subject—rising China's growing role in the world economy and its evolving security and economic policies toward the United States and its Asian neighbors. Well-written and well-organized, Chinese Foreign Relations should be read by specialists and policy makers, and it can be widely used in the classroom. (Robert Ross )

This definitive study of China’s contemporary foreign policy by one of the most experienced and knowledgeable experts in Washington will be indispensable for teachers, students, and all those currently engaged with China. (Michael Yahuda )

Comprehensive and balanced, this is a panoramic text. It examines both the historical and policy process roots of contemporary Chinese foreign policy. This volume reflects what Bob Sutter does so well: summarizes available scholarship, gives the pros and cons of various schools of thought, indicates where he thinks the balanced position is to be found, and provides a comprehensive view of the subject. (David M. Lampton )

The best survey of both change and continuity in Chinese foreign policy in the period since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991....Recommended. (Choice )

This is an excellent survey of contemporary Chinese foreign policy, well-suited to use in university classes. With thirty-three years' service analyzing Chinese foreign policy, in both legislative and executive branches of the US government, Sutter's judgments are balanced and mature. His writing style is lucid and his presentation of arguments clear and systematic. (10/1/08 The China Journal )

In sum, Sutter provides a valuable policy-related discussion of China's bilateral relationships....There is a richness of discussion and analysis that is as welcome as it is refreshing. (Political Science Quarterly )

This engaging and well-written volume is primarily designed to provide non-specialists a comprehensive discussion of China's evolving relationship with the rest of the international system since the late 1980s, and it will attract a great deal of interest in the field....It is likely to become a standard text for teaching undergraduates about China's increasingly complex role on the international stage, while also serving as a valuable introduction to this dynamic for anyone with a nascent interest in China. (The Journal Of Asian Studies )

About the Author
Robert G. Sutter is visiting professor of Asian studies in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.