Normative change and the new regional order: China’s institution building in international society

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) signify a pivotal shift in China’s foreign policy. This dissertation explores China’s strategies since President Xi Jinping’s tenure began in 2012, focusing on its institution-building efforts in Asia. The academic debate on China’s foreign policy aligns with discussions on the future international order, suggesting China either challenges American hegemony or integrates into the liberal international order. This work critiques the limitations of rationalist and Western-centric views on China’s national interests, drawing on constructivism and Chinese International Relations Theories (IRTs). It posits China as a normative entrepreneur in Asian international society, guided by relationality rooted in Zhongyong dialectics and the Tianxia worldview. China’s rise within the liberal world order both enables and constrains its actions. In pursuit of long-term international reputation, China supports pluralist sovereignty norms in globalisation while promoting solidarist norms through regional institutions.

The dissertation empirically examines three phases of China’s institution-building: 1) norm contestation with the West in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO); 2) new concepts and institutions under Xi Jinping; and 3) regional governance vision in the AIIB. Using discourse analysis, it tracks China’s behavioural patterns by investigating the emergence and evolution of official slogans and ideas. Challenging the ‘either-or’ way of thinking, it argues that China’s use of liberal language does not imply full adherence to the US-led order, as it avoids key disagreements to maintain a broad normative framework. In fact, China aims to propose a new vision for Asian regional governance, advocating that cooperation based on Confucian inclusive thought and Chinese-style development is an ideal path to achieving regional prosperity. The rise of China highlights the significance of local historical-cultural forces and regional international societies, which are crucial for understanding the evolution of potential regional governance within the liberal world order.