China has moved from a focus on “great power” diplomacy – emphasizing its relationship with global powers, especially the U.S. – to prioritizing “neighborhood diplomacy” – China’s relationships with its neighbors and near neighbors. That shift, which has been slowly transforming China’s foreign policy since Xi Jinping came to power, has major ramifications for the Asia-Pacific, as well as U.S.-China relations.
Historically, scholars have seen China as placing a premium on the U.S.-China relationship. Getting that relationship right was the “key of keys” (重中之重) for Chinese foreign policy as a whole. It’s no coincidence that Xi took a trip to the U.S. in February 2012 to prove his bona fides before assuming China’s top leadership position. And during that trip, Xi coined his first major catchphrase. Before the “Belt and Road,” before even the “China Dream,” Xi put his stamp on Chinese policy by proposing “new type of major country relations.”
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