China's Pitch for a Multipolar World: The New Security Concept (Asia- Pacific Security Studies. Volume 2, Number 1, May 2003)

摘要

In the last few years, China has promulgated a 'new security concept' (NSC) that advocates principles for international relations that the Chinese argue will promote peace and prosperity better than the current order, which is based on a 'Cold War mentality.' The NSC provides a vehicle for China to counter perceived American 'containment' and assert Chinese regional leadership in a way that appears principled, responsible, and non-threatening. The NSC promotes cooperative security, an expanded understanding of security that includes threats beyond traditional state-vs-state military conflict, and security cooperation that is aimed at promoting trust among states rather than targeting specific countries considered potential adversaries. The NSC advocates multilateral dialogue, confidence-building measures, arms control and non-proliferation, and expanded economic interaction as policies that will reduce international tensions. It denounces the use or threat of force to settle political disputes and calls on large countries to treat smaller countries with equality and respect. Promoting the NSC serves several Chinese foreign policy goals, including countering the dominant position of the United States, demonstrating Chinese leadership, and assuring the region that China does not intend to use its growing power to dominate its neighbors. While the United States should welcome China's endorsement of peace-promoting activities such as multilateral dialogue and confidence-building, the NSC also represents a challenge to American leadership -- particularly in the Asia-Pacific region -- as well as opposition to several specific U.S. policies or objectives. These specific American policies include strong bilateral security alliances in the region, criticism of governments that fail to protect human rights, and plans to develop a system to defend against ballistic missiles.