China’s current foreign policy is largely influenced by its history with the tributary system that was in effect from the Han dynasty in 202 BC to the 19th century. In this system, neighboring states paid tribute by bringing native products and luxury items to the Chinese emperor in exchange for economic and security benefits from China. Part of the system involved the “kow-tow”, where heads of state bowed to the Chinese emperor to acknowledge China’s cultural sovereignty over their own. The Sino-centric system was based on China’s name as the Middle Kingdom, 中国 (zhongguo), or everything between heaven and earth. This meant that China’s prestige was rooted in its view of itself as the center of civilization ruled by a leader in possession of a “Mandate of Heaven” to govern the nation and its tributaries.
Today, while the tributary system is not in effect, the Chinese government views wielding influence on the global stage as a natural continuation of the “Mandate of Heaven”. In 2012, President Xi Jinping set forth the “China Dream” which aimed to reclaim China’s previous glory. This includes restoring Chinese prominence in Asia, regaining control over territories (Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tibet, Xinjiang), and gaining respect from global powers. President Xi Jinping is currently making the China Dream a reality by strengthening China’s presence in Southeast Asia with ASEAN, increasing government control over Hong Kong, and broadening China’s international reach through health diplomacy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bearing in mind China’s previous role in Asia, in the context of the China Dream, it sees its destiny as a return to the prestige of its tributary days.
A return to prominence is also associated with the Century of Humiliation, a period from 1839-1949 where foreign incursions led to an erosion of Chinese sovereignty and prestige. China points to the First Opium War in 1839 as the beginning of their ‘humiliation’, where it fought Great Britain to try to end illegal opium imports into China and address a trade imbalance between the two nations. The war resulted in a British victory, and Britain asked for Hong Kong, the opening of five treaty ports for international trade, and most favored nation status. To the Chinese, a consequence of the war was a series of unequal treaties that continued with the Second Opium War, where China was further ‘humiliated’ by Great Britain, France, and the United States. This war resulted in the burning of the Summer Palace, which had great cultural significance, by British troops.
According to the current Chinese narrative, it wasn’t until 1949 under Mao Zedong’s leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that the ‘humiliation’ came to an end. Since then, overcoming the Century of Humiliation has provided the CCP with domestic legitimacy and the impetus to return to tributary-like days. Due to the CCP’s significant role in ending ‘humiliation’, the party is seen as the only entity which can steward the country to the “China Dream”. The CCP is determined to avoid further subjugation at the hands of foreign powers, and interprets many decisions by Western actors as attempts to hold China back from its proper place on the global stage.
