The Principle of Noninterference, Revisited
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The Globalization of Chinese Economic Interests and Chinese Foreign Policy: The Principle of Noninterference, Revisited. By Jorge Antonio Chávez Mazuelos Submitted to Central European University Department of International Relations In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Supervisor: Professor Michael Merlingen Word count: 15,149 CEU eTD Collection Budapest, Hungary 2019 Abstract The principle of noninterference is a foundational tenet of Chinese foreign policy which stems from the normative understanding of sovereignty and the narrative of victimization and foreign aggression during the century of humiliation. In times where China’s global presence was limited, the strict application of the principle was not problematic. However, China’s economic expansion has made the protection of Chinese citizens and interests beyond the country’s border a priority. I will argue that this unprecedented imperative is linked to the emergence of the norm of protection of Chinese citizens and interests. I will posit this norm has had domestic actors such as bureaucratic actors and grassroots pressures as its main drivers. The contribution this thesis intends to make to the literature is to illustrate that there is a clash between the long-held norm of sovereignty and the principle of noninterference and the norm of protection of Chinese Nationals and interests which emerged upon the globalization of Chinese economic interests. I will argue that this normative clash is problematic for the ruling Chinese Communist Party since it is inextricably connected to the imperative of government legitimacy and regime security. If the CCP derived its legitimacy from the protection of Chinese sovereignty against foreign aggression, securing its citizens and interests overseas has become a new source of legitimacy. CEU eTD Collection ii Acknowledgements I would like to express my gratitude to Professor Michael Merlingen, my thesis supervisor, for his support and guidance during my research. The dialogues I had with him were fundamental for aligning my academic interest on Chinese foreign policy with a theoretical framework. I also would like to thank Professor Daniel Large, who helped me to identify my field of academic research and deepen my knowledge about Chinese Foreign Policy. The class seminars and consultations I had with him enabled me to approach my research with greater perspective. I would like to convey my gratitude to Robin Bellers, from the Academic Writing Center, who had the patience to read my papers throughout my academic year at CEU and who was very supportive during the process of writing my thesis. Finally, as the old chinese adage says, when you drink water, remember who built the well( 饮水 思源). Therefore I would like to my deepest gratitude to the late Mr. Antonio Fernández Arce, Peruvian journalist, China expert and dear friend, with whom I had compelling dialogues during the years I lived in Beijing. His more than 50 years of life in China and his remarkable stories further sparked my interest on China. CEU eTD Collection iii Table of contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1 Theoretical framework ...........................................................................................4 1.1 Constructivism ..............................................................................................................4 1.2 Academic debates on the principle of noninterference ...................................................8 1.3 Methodology ............................................................................................................... 11 Chapter 2 The emergence of the norm of sovereignty and the principle of noninterference ... 12 2.1 The transition from the Tianxia system to the Westphalian order ................................. 12 2.2 Communist Foreign Policy .......................................................................................... 16 2.3 The Reform and Opening up: Foundation of the economic miracle ............................. 19 Chapter 3 The emergence of the norm of citizen and interest protection ............................... 23 3.1 The pressures of the Party-State bureaucratic entities .................................................. 27 3.2 Popular nationalism and grassroots pressure for active involvement ............................ 30 3.3 Institutional response to the new reality ....................................................................... 35 Chapter 4 The clash of the norms in practice: A more flexible understanding of the principle of non-interference .................................................................................................................... 38 4.1 Law enforcement operation in the Golden Triangle ..................................................... 39 4.2 Non-Combatant Evacuation in Libya .......................................................................... 43 4.3 Sudan´s hostage crisis ................................................................................................. 48 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 51 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................. 54 CEU eTD Collection iv Introduction China has risen as the second world power and it is poised to become the biggest economy. However, this is not quite an exceptional change in world history, since China held that position until the early 19th century. In nearly 4 decades, China has become the world´s second economy and will likely become the world´s largest economic power in the coming years. The so called Chinese economic miracle is seen as an exceptional historical shift; however, China had held the position as the world´s largest economy until mid-19th century. Since Deng Xiaoping launched the Reform and Opening Up policy in 1978, the country has gone through a deep economic and social transformation that has had profound ramifications beyond its shores. Over the past 4 decades China’s GDP has grown 34-fold while its foreign trade volume has increased 234-fold.1. This growth has been translated into the international expansion of Chinese economic interests, through trade and investments and accompanied by the migration of Chinese nationals to the recipient countries. Therefore, the globalization of the presence of Chinese interests and citizens has created unprecedented normative challenges for Chinese foreign policy, that have been expressed in the application of the principle of noninterference, a foundational principle of Chinese foreign policy.2 The principle of non-interference arose from the normative understanding of sovereignty, which was institutionalized in the Chinese Foreign Policy discourse due to the narrative of victimization and foreign aggression during the century of humiliation. Upon the foundation of The People’s CEU eTD Collection Republic of China, the norm of sovereignty was further internalized giving way to the 1 Miaojie Yu (2018) China’s international trade development and opening up policy design over the past four decades, China Economic Journal, 11:3:301. 2 Parello-Plesner,Jonas; Duchâtel,Mathieu.(2015) China's strong arm: protecting citizens and assets abroad. Abingdon, Oxon:. P-10 1 government´s role identity as defender of national sovereignty against foreign aggression and interference. The normative prescription of this role identity was two-fold, on the one hand China prevented any breach of its territorial integrity and internal affairs and on the other hand it was expected to equally respect the sovereignty of other states. Therefore, this thesis investigates how has the Chinese government’s economic internationalization strategy has affected its role identity and its performance of sovereignty. It examines how has the clash between the norm of sovereignty and the principle of noninterference and the norm of protection of Chinese citizens and interests translated into foreign policy decisions. Furthermore, it analyzes how the internalization of the norm of protection of Chinese citizens and interests is connected to the Chinese government´s regime security and legitimacy. The contribution this thesis intends to make to the literature is to illustrate that there is a clash between the long-held norm of sovereignty and the principle of noninterference and the norm of protection of Chinese Nationals and interests which emerged upon the globalization of Chinese economic interests. I will argue that this normative clash is problematic for the ruling Chinese Communist Party since it is inextricably connected to the imperative of government legitimacy and regime security. I will posit that upholding the strict notion of the principle of noninterference and the corresponding identity of defender of national sovereignty was not problematic in a context where China’s global reach was limited. Nevertheless, in circumstances where China´s economic expansion and the increasing presence of its nationals, worldwide, have created domestic pressures which have led to the emergence of a new norm, the norm of protection of Chinese Citizens and CEU eTD Collection interests abroad.3 Hence, the norm to protect Chinese Citizens and interests has clashed with the 3 Weining Ai & Weiqing Song (2019) China