Quick questions on China and its neighbourhood explained: H2 China Studies

China's relationship with its region is defined by a fundamental duality. On the one hand, China is the economic centre of gravity of Asia: it is the largest trading partner of most of its neighbours, a vital source of investment, and increasingly the hub of regional supply chains. On the other hand, China's growing power and assertiveness make it the principal source of security anxiety for many of those same neighbours, particularly where territorial disputes are involved. The region thus faces China as both its greatest economic opportunity and its greatest strategic worry, and understanding how states reconcile these is the heart of this dot point.

The economic pull is overwhelming. Decades of growth have made China the dominant trading partner across Asia, from Southeast Asia to Northeast Asia, and a major investor, including through the Belt and Road. For most regional economies, access to the Chinese market and to Chinese capital and tourism is central to their prosperity. This economic centrality compels engagement: no neighbour can afford to cut itself off from China, and the gravitational force of its economy draws the region into ever-closer commercial integration.

Faced with this duality, most regional states pursue a strategy of "hedging" rather than choosing definitively between accommodating China (bandwagoning) or opposing it (balancing). Hedging means engaging China economically to capture the opportunity while simultaneously insuring against the security risk. The insurance typically takes the form of maintaining and often strengthening security ties with the United States, which most regional states see as a counterweight to Chinese power, and of building their own defence capabilities. States thus deepen trade with China and keep security links with America at the same time, refusing to be forced into an exclusive choice.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is central to how Southeast Asia manages China. ASEAN provides a multilateral framework through which smaller states can engage China collectively, giving them more weight than they would have individually, and a set of forums for managing disputes and drawing in outside powers. ASEAN's preferred approach, engaging China through dialogue, seeking codes of conduct for the South China Sea, and avoiding forced alignment, embodies the hedging logic at the regional level. But ASEAN's effectiveness is limited by its diversity: its members have different relationships with and dependencies on China, which makes a fully united stance difficult and which China can exploit.

Explain the duality that defines China's relations with its neighbourhood. [4 marks]

Explain what is meant by "hedging" as a regional strategy toward China. [12 marks]

"China's economic weight gives it decisive influence over its neighbours." How far do you agree? [20 marks]