Why China's Periphery Strategy is so Important in its Overall Foreign Policy

Abstract

China has the largest number of neighbors in the world, nearly 30 in number. A large number of neighbors present historical, religious, ethnic, political, economic, social, and cultural differences. Throughout its history, China has been involved in war disputes and conflicts with several countries, and to this day there are still border and territorial issues that have not yet been resolved. At the same time, China's neighborhood is also a place where the interests of the world's major powers meet. How to deal with its neighborhood is, therefore, the diplomatic key to China's ability to build a stable and harmonious neighborhood security environment and achieve peaceful development. This article focuses on a brief analysis of China's peripheral strategy and the current international situation and peripheral issues facing China. Through a study of the case of the past Diaoyu Islands incident, it illustrates the importance China has to attach to its peripheral strategy in terms of territorial integrity, security, and economic development, as well as a study of the case of the China-ASEAN Expo, which illustrates the improvement of China's geostrategy, economy, soft power and influence in terms of the development of The numerous benefits that the peripheral strategy has brought to China, and the analysis of the two cases to demonstrate the importance of China's peripheral strategy in its overall foreign policy.