Paulo Duarte

This article is based on an assumption: the China of today has a new foreign policy based on five main features: the search for a full partnership with the United States through a new bilateral relationship; the commitment to a strategy of economic security; a proactive approach in defining the regional order; a growing trend towards soft balancing in the relationship with the major powers (which is related to a deeper strategic partnership with Russia); and, finally, the use of soft power as a means of promoting Chinese interests regionally and globally. We intend to demonstrate that the abovementioned foreign policy trends explain the rapid increase of Chinese participation in international affairs, contributing to a rapid rise of China as a world power. This is, the main conclusion of the present article.