Let’s just say we’d like to avoid any great power entanglements: desecuritization in post-Mao Chinese foreign policy towards major powers

Abstract

ABSTRACTPrevious studies on securitization in China have shown how security discourses can have various domestic political functions, how even security issues can be contested, and how China engages with the securitization moves of neighbouring states. Despite this growing literature, there is however no general view of desecuritization as a part of Chinese foreign policy towards the major powers. To fill this gap, the present article examines desecuritization in the foreign policy of post-Mao China. This discussion begins with the desecuritization of the Cold War, and then views how China has sought to prevent the securitization of China’s rise in the US. This discussion contributes to the study of Chinese foreign policy maxims by providing it with insights seen through the lens of desecuritization.