China’s Rise and Regional Strategy: Power, Interdependence and Identity

This article attempts to examine and critique the theoretical debates on the rise of China and its regional strategy in East Asia. Three major paradigms in international relations theories – realism, liberalism and constructivism – are focused on. This article argues that each theoretical theory alone is inadequate for a comprehensive understanding of China’s regional strategy in East Asia since the late 1990s. While sometimes they are considered as competing approaches, these different theoretical perspectives supplement each other. It concludes that only a combination of material interests and ideational factors at both the domestic and systematic level can deepen our understanding of China’s regional behaviour.