China and Global Crises: The ‘Culture of Reluctance’

Western hopes that China will take greater responsibility for dealing with international crises are likely to be dashed, according to this issue of China Analysis published by the European Council on Foreign Relations and the Asia Centre. The paper concludes that China’s ‘Culture of Reluctance’ – a term borrowed from German foreign policy – will continue to prevent it from becoming a ‘responsible stakeholder’. It will contribute to solving international problems only when its core national interests are directly threatened and it is unable to be a 'free rider.

This policy paper examines Chinese attitudes to Afghanistan, Iraq, Mali, Pakistan and Ukraine, outlining China’s deep suspicion of other powers’ ulterior motives for involvement. It shows how Chinese analysts see the United States plotting to draw it into the vortex of Iraq and the Middle East.

Earlier in 2014 President Obama’s charge that China had been a 'free rider' in international affairs for the past thirty years was met with an acerbic response from Beijing which accused the United States in Iraq of being both an ‘invader’ and a ‘deserter’ while China had been a ‘peacekeeper’ a ‘cooperator’ and a ‘rebuilder’.

The joint ECFR and Asia Centre paper concludes that China is highly selective about where it gets involved. Its global engagement is motivated by a desire to protect its own interests and improve its international image.

• Primary Source

EU: EEAS: China http://eeas.europa.eu/china/index_en.htm

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