Black Coffee Morning: Foreign Policy and Grand Strategy of the new China 3.0

The 18^th National Congress of the Communist Party of China held in 2012 did not only mark a change of political power in the Chinese leadership, but also provided for a revision of Chinese priorities in foreign policy matters. Following Deng Xiaoping’s era of economic rise, China under Xi Jinping is moving towards a new stage in its history. This does not come as a surprise, as many analysts and intellectuals view Xi Jinping as being the most powerful leader of China since Mao. What has changed over the last few years? How will China develop in the future? What is the significance of the political and economic trends that shape the new China for the European-Chinese and German-Chinese relations?

These were among the many questions that were raised during the Black Coffee Morning organised by ECFR’s Berlin Office on 24 March 2015 on China’s foreign policy ambitions. ECFR was honoured to host Professor Shi Yinhong, who is one of the most prominent voices on China’s ‘Grand Strategy’. He is a professor at the Renmin University in Beijing and serves as an official advisor to the Chinese State Council. He is known to be a firm realist, but caused some controversy a few years back when he advocated a more conciliatory approach towards Japan.

After the introductory remarks of Angela Stanzel, Policy Fellow for ECFR’s Asia and China Programme, Professor Shi Yinhong reflected upon Xi Jinping’s military strategic and economic strategic ambitions in greater detail. Participants engaged in a heated debate over the Chinese government’s geostrategic approach towards its regional and international partners. Following the off-the-record roundtable discussion, attendants of the event took the opportunity to go deeper into the debate on current political and economic trends of China in a bilateral setting.

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