Introduction

Since the 1980s, China’s role in the world has changed dramatically from a politically and economically important yet developing nation to a major power. Students of Chinese Studies will know that, before its decline in the mid-1800s, the Chinese state/civilization had been poised to become a major power in world affairs, and its recent return to a position as a key player on the global stage is also a return to a station it held in the past. This return to great-power status is a key component of Xi Jinping’s ‘Chinese Dream’. However, is the Chinese Dream a form of coordinated ‘grand strategy’, or is it simply rhetoric with no real consequences for Chinese foreign policy? While it is too early to evaluate the impact of the Chinese Dream on Chinese foreign policy, the ‘harmonious world’ concept—an integral element of the Chinese Dream—has been the central concept of Chinese foreign policy since 2005. This book examines the impact of the harmonious world and the Chinese Dream concepts on Chinese foreign-policy making.