Introduction: A Xi change in policy?
| Date | 01 May 2021 |
| Published date | 01 May 2021 |
| Author | Shaun Breslin,Pan Zhongqi |
| DOI | 10.1177/1369148121992499 |
| Subject Matter | Special Issue: Chinese foreign policy: A Xi change? |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1369148121992499
The British Journal of Politics and
International Relations
2021, Vol. 23(2) 197 –209
© The Author(s) 2021
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DOI: 10.1177/1369148121992499
journals.sagepub.com/home/bpi
Introduction: A Xi change
in policy?
Shaun Breslin1 and Pan Zhongqi2
Abstract
Have China’s international relations changed fundamentally under Xi Jinping? Or is it rather
a matter of heading in the same direction as before, but with a considerable increase in pace
accompanied by a greater confidence in outlining where this journey is taking China (and as a
consequence, the world as well)? This introduction outlines some of the collective conclusions of
the special issue as a whole, and in explaining the rationale for constructing it, pays tribute to John
Peterson’s contribution and support.
Keywords
China, China’s international relations, China’s rise, global order, John Peterson, Xi Jinping
This special issue owes its existence to the late and much missed John Peterson. In his
capacity as editor of this journal, he not only thought that the time was right to have an
assessment of this type, but he was clear about some of the ways it should be put together
as well.1 For example, he was keen to avoid simply focusing on US perceptions of the
admittedly very important Sino–US bilateral relationship as some sort of proxy for the
study of China’s changing global role per se. Clearly, this academic ‘usual suspect’ should
not and, indeed, could not be ignored. But there is more to the world and China’s place it
than this bilateralism (even though it is probably the most important bilateral relationship
of the current era), and the scope of scholarship needed to reflect this. He was even more
keen to ensure that this was not just an analysis of China from the outside either, and
wanted to see a real partnership that included Chinese voices and perceptions. And in
keeping with his commitment to mentoring and nurturing future generations of scholars,
it was to be a collection that would include scholars at rather different stages of their
careers. We have tried our best to live up to his vision, and dedicate this special issue to
his memory and hope that we have not let him down.
While the issue of China’s rise has long been a subject of interest across the International
Relations (IR) community, this special issue was commissioned at a time when a key
change seemed to be taking place. The idea that this rise could be a threat to the United
1Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
2School of International Relations and Public Affairs, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Corresponding author:
Shaun Breslin, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK.
Email: Shaun.Breslin@warwick.ac.uk
992499BPI0010.1177/1369148121992499The British Journal of Politics and International RelationsBreslin and Pan
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