The Dragon Roars Back: Transformational Leaders and Dynamics of Chinese Foreign Policy

by Suisheng Zhao

China is unique in modern world history. No other rising power has experienced China's turbulent history in its relations with neighbors and Western countries. Its sheer size dominates the region. With leader Xi Jinping's political authority unmatched, Xi's sense of mission to restore what he believes is China's natural position as a great power drives the current course of the nation's foreign policy. When China was weak, it was subordinated to others. Now, China is strong, and it wants others to subordinate, at least on the issues involving what it regards as core national interests. What are the primary forces and how have these forces driven China's reemergence to global power? This book weaves together complex events, processes, and players to provide a historically in-depth, conceptually comprehensive, and up-to-date analysis of Chinese foreign policy transition since the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC), arguing that transformational leaders with new visions and political wisdom to make their visions prevail are the game changers. Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, and Xi Jinping are transformational leaders who have charted unique courses of Chinese foreign policy in the quest for security, prosperity, and power. With the ultimate decision-making authority on national security and strategic policies, these leaders have made political use of ideational forces, tailoring bureaucratic institutions, exploiting the international power distribution, and responding strategically to the international norms and rules to advance their foreign policy agendas in the path of China's ascendance.

Genres: China, Politics, History, Asia, International, Nonfiction

358 pages, Paperback

Published November 29, 2022

About the author

Suisheng Zhao (Chinese: 赵穗生) is a Chinese American political scientist currently serving as professor of Chinese politics and foreign policy at the University of Denver's Josef Korbel School of International Studies. He directs the school's Center for China–US Cooperation, and is the founding editor and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Contemporary China.

Reviews

[Liu · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a decent introductory summary and assessment of China's foreign policy from Mao to today. But even though the book argues that leaders have been crucial to foreign policy changes, Zhao's timeline doesn't seem to indicate that. Reading this book and another one of his articles, you can see that China's more assertive turn begins after the 2008 Great Financial Crisis during Hu Jintao's second term, not Xi Jinping's ascent to general secretary in 2012. The Dragon's Roaring Back doesn't seem to be due to the change from Hu to Xi, but rather the perceived weakness of the US after the financial crisis. This explanation dovetails well with Rush Doshi's recent book, The Long Game: China's Grand Strategy to Displace American Order, which sees 2008 as the crucial turning point in China's grand strategy. Regardless, this book is well worth a read and a good place to start for those interested in Chinese foreign policy.

[Bindesh Dahal · Rating 3 out of 5]

An informative but biased take. The writer tries to make the reader understand China with western perspective

[RYAN PHAM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laminated hardcover

[Victor Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sections on the history and present status of Chinese nationalism help me a lot when I was writing my MA dissertation. Prof. Zhao succinctly showcases the essence of state-led popular nationalism, the ways Xi manipulated the ideational and institutional conditions for advocating "big power diplomacy", and the delicate dilemma which the PRC and CCP are facing between globalism and nationalism. I also recommend Zhao's recent journal articles on Chinese nationalism, which are well worth reading.

[Daniel Hunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Basic Modern Political Primer

This book provides a good, general political history of modern China. It clearly defines political intensions and gives the reader a wider depth of historical political history in which to consider news regarding Chinenes actions.