Several Proposals For Constructing China’s Grand National Strategy: United Front Against China

The shift of the U.S. primary strategic focus from land to sea and the construction of a united front against China

Right Wing Populism’s Negative Effect To International Relations     

Song Dexing

March 15, 2024

[Abstract] In a period of turbulent change, international power has shown a trend of decentralization among, above and below countries.  The widespread anxiety it has spawned makes the current era an “era of strategic anxiety”.  At the same time, the evolution of the basic international attitudes of the United States and the West and the self-interest strategic tendency represented by populism have directly negatively affected the development of the United States and the West as well as negatively impacted inter-state relations.  

After entering the 21st century, the United States’ primary geostrategic concern has undergone a historic shift from land to sea, which to a certain extent promoted the formation of the United Front of Maritime Countries against China.

The above-mentioned changes in the strategic environment determine that the creation of China’s national grand strategy must attach great importance to domestic development, which is the key for the successful rise of China.

At the same time, China must also attach great importance to the optimization of the external strategic environment, and effectively enhance its strategic thinking. We should objectively and rationally grasp the relationship between China and the world, and the role of the international community. We should as well master the art of using power. Therefore, in the process of creating China’s national grand strategy, sufficient attention needs to be paid to both the domestic and international dimensions, and national grand strategy making process should be regarded as a process that requires constant adjustment and optimization to ensure its inherent dynamic balance.

Text

The report of the 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party points out that the world has entered a new period of turbulence and change. ①  As the counterpart of peace and stability, turbulence and change imply that the seriousness of the contradictions and challenges has reached such a level that it cannot be ignored. The urgency and significance of the situation derived from this foundation have compelled the main actors to adopt a different approach to governance than in the past, reflecting a marked tendency towards change, although there is still a legacy. In particular, structural factors, as key variables, generate dynamics and changes that are sufficient to fundamentally alter the basic landscape of international politics, mainly with regard to the international power structure, geostrategic priorities and the basic international attitudes or international political culture of the United States and the West.

The above-mentioned elements systematically affect the international strategic environment and deeply influence the international strategic psychology, thus inevitably pulling the major countries’ grand strategy creation and implementation in terms of both objective patterns and subjective perceptions, and making the international community’s governance strategies and logic of policy behaviors during the period of turbulence and change different from those of the past. Therefore, the international environment, domestic foundation, and decision-making quality on which China’s national strategy is based need to be optimized to keep pace with the times, so as to win the first opportunity and take the initiative during the turbulent period of change.

Accordingly, the article will focus on four issues: firstly, the mega-trend of international decentralization and its strategic effects; second, the spread of populism and the self-interested strategic tendency of the U.S. and the West that it has spawned; third, the significance of the shift in the U.S.’s geo-strategic priority from the land to the sea for the creation of a joint front of oceanic countries against China; and finally, we will discuss the issues that China’s grand national strategy should focus on.

Please Download for Full Text