China has key role in a new concert of powers
Pang Zhongying believes such a security structure for Asia can prevent the nightmare of war
Is China's political leadership revising its foreign policy, which has lasted for almost the whole post-cold war period, to a new approach that can be described as "great power diplomacy"? In other words, under President Xi Jinping's leadership, is China's foreign policy - including its system and institutions - experiencing a transformation from a "low-key" approach to one that is more "proactive"?
The answer is not that simple.
China's previous foreign policy doctrine can be characterised as a series of no's: "no interference", "not take the lead", "no seeking of hegemony", " not challenging the existing international order", "non-aligned", "no political strings attached", and so on. In many ways, this remains unchanged.
The Chinese leadership including Xi has taken these positions on many occasions on the global or regional stage.
For example, in a white paper on its foreign aid published this month, China stresses that "when providing foreign assistance, [it] adheres to the principles of not imposing any political conditions, not interfering in the internal affairs of the recipient countries and fully respecting their right to independently choosing their own paths and models of development".
Yet, at the same time, China believes it is imperative it revises or restructures its foreign policy doctrines. Many recent actions taken by the Chinese leadership show it is exploring a new foreign policy:
