Hu Jintao and China’s Foreign Policy

Hu Jintao became president of the People’s Republic of China in 2003 and has changed many aspects of China’s foreign policy. While his predecessor, Jiang Zemin, had what could be described as a U.S.-centric foreign policy, Hu has expanded the scope of the country’s foreign policy to include more diverse alliances with countries such as Venezuela, Iran, Canada and Australia. With China now a rising power, Hu’s administration has also pursued a more aggressive foreign policy than that of previous leaders.

The Hu administration has continued the pragmatic strategy started by Deng Xiaoping. It is a stance that is not ideologically aligned to Communism or any other ideals, but rather viewing international affairs mostly in light of China’s modernization objectives. Hu has tried to avoid marking countries as friends or enemies. In 2006, the Hu administration outlined its foreign policy strategy as the following: big powers are the key, periphery (neighboring) countries are the priority, and developing countries are the foundation.

China’s rapid economic growth has presented the country with an unprecedented resource shortage. Hu has worked to expand China’s ties with countries rich in resources, such as Brazil and Pakistan. Under Hu’s administration, China has also expanded its influence in Africa, with both aid and investment money. In much of Africa, Hu is seen favorably by the general population.

As far as its stance toward the U.S., the Hu administration has tried to develop a relationship based on a multipolar world context, rather than a unipolar world dominated by the U.S. Thus, China has continued to expand its ties to incorporate virtually all the major powers and regional blocs.

While working with the goal of a multipolar world, the Hu administration admits that the U.S. remains the only superpower at this point. On the issue of terrorism, Hu has an official position similar to that of the United States.

With China’s rise in the international community has come expectations of more responsible behavior. This has brought a gradual shift from China’s traditional stance of staying out of other countries’ domestic affairs to a more aggressive foreign policy. In 2006, Beijing joined the U.S. in denouncing North Korea’s nuclear tests, voted in favor in increased sanctions on Iran (China’s largest Middle East oil supplier), and supported the deployment of a UN-African Union force to Darfur.

China’s policy toward its neighbors (which it calls periphery countries) has been the good neighbor policy since the 1980s. Hu’s goals in this region is to increase China’s economic interactions with Asian countries and to rebuild the country’s image as the region’s leading power.

China’s foreign policy has become more active and diverse under Hu Jintao, as China’s profile has grown internationally.

Reference: Foreign Policy Magazine