341 Fernando Delage The Asian strategy of Xi Jinping diplomatic principles formulated at the beginning of the nineties by Deng Xiaoping. The consolidation of Chinese influence in Asia is considered crucial to its rise as a major power, becoming inseparable from the national rejuvenation drive promoted by Xi Jinping under the slogan “Chinese Dream”. The causes and implications of this shift constitute the focus of this article. As we find ourselves merely in the first stage of this administration -Xi will not abandon power until the 20th Party Congress, in 2022- we are not attempting to anticipate the evolution of Chinese foreign policy, but to construct an analytical framework identifying Beijing’s preferences by examining: (1) the Chinese perception of its surrounding environment and capabilities; (2) the diplomatic doctrine articulated by the government during this period; and (3) the principal initiatives to execute its strategy. Given the relevance of the PRC in the transformation of Asian order, in turn a determining factor in the international system for the middle of the century, an analysis of Xi Jinping’s regional strategy provides some key clues to the sources of Chinese behaviour and, consequently, to the effects of its rise as a major power. CHINESE PERCEPTION OF THE REGIONAL ENVIRONMENT The conceptual framework of Chinese foreign policy stems from the perception of a “new situation” in its security environment.12 In the words of the latest White Defence Paper, the regional landscape “is undergoing profound changes”, which means that China “faces multiple and complicated security threats and challenges”.13 In 2013, in a detailed description of the innovations in Chinese diplomacy the State Councillor, Yang Jiechi, referred to the cause as “a keen appreciation of the evolving global environment and trends of development at home”, in light of “new conditions and new tasks” facing the country.14 President Xi Jinping would again mention the “major changes” in Asia and the “extremely complicated security situation” as the reasons 12 BRADLEY, David. “A ‘New Situation’: China’s Evolving Assessment of its Security Environment”, China Brief, vol. 14, no. 15, 31 July 2014, p. 8, http://www.jamestown.org/programs/chinabrief/ single/?tx_ttnewstt_news=42690&tx_ttnewsbackPid=758&no_cache=1#.VAhPbVfkSSo (last consultation 9-9-2014). 13 INFORMATION OFFICE OF THE STATE COUNCIL. “The Diversified Employment of China’s Armed Forces”, Beijing, 16 April 2013, http://www.china.org.cn/government/whitepaper/ node_7181425.htm (last consultation 12-1-2015). 14 Published in the Communist party flagship magazine, Qiushi, 16 August 2013. English version published on the Foreign Ministry website: YANG Jiechi. “Innovations in China’s Diplomatic Theory and Practice under New Conditions”, http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/ce/ceie/eng/gdxw/t1067861.htm (last consultation 12.--2015). http://revista.ieee.es/index.php/ieee
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