China urged to create own international relations knowledge system, reject West

A government adviser has urged China to develop its own international relations knowledge system, rooted in its unique history, cultural traditions and geopolitical realities.

This system, distinct from Western frameworks, would more effectively explain China’s foreign policy and global role to the world, according to Zheng Yongnian, dean of the school of public policy at Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen.

In an interview published on Monday by People’s Daily, Zheng emphasised the strategic urgency of intellectual autonomy as a key part of Beijing’s push for global influence.

Zheng’s call for a China-centric knowledge system aligns closely with Beijing’s recently introduced Global Governance Initiative (GGI), which advocates for a multipolar and inclusive global order emphasising sovereign equality, shared development, and multilateral cooperation.

Proposed by President Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit earlier this month, and followed by a major military parade marking 80 years since the end of World War II, the initiative is widely interpreted as a signal of China’s growing ambition and readiness to assert its global leadership, particularly amid growing scepticism towards the US-led order under President Donald Trump.

Zheng’s argument is that, for too long, international relations – and China’s role within them – have been viewed through a Western lens dominated by theories such as realism, liberalism, and constructivism.

  

​Read More