China in 2023:a «global-security-attentive» foreign policy

This article provides an in-depth analysis of China’s foreign policy in 2023, exploring four dimensions: global security, China-United States relations, China-Russia ties, and China’s «active» approach in the Global South. 2023 witnessed an attempt to depart from China’s historical «non-interference principle», marked by the conceptual redefinition of the «Global Security Initiative» and the country’s active involvement in dispute and conflict resolutions across the Global South. In the opening empirical section, the article examines China’s stance on global security, and its attempts to balance «activism» and non-interference. The following section investigates the complexity of China-United States relations, highlighting attempts at strategic dialogue amid persistent geopolitical struggles. Afterwards, the article argues that a recalibration of China-Russia ties is ongoing, emphasising China’s diplomatic discourse on non-allegiance and its less-ambiguous approach toward Ukraine. The last section discusses China’s style of activism in disputes and conflict theatres in the Global South, analysing the Russia-Ukraine war, the Iran-Saudi deal, and the Israel-Palestine war. The article concludes by highlighting the tension between China’s increasingly more active role in global security and the international system and the country’s attempts to preserve its historically crafted image as a «responsible» and «peaceful» great power.