Origins and Paradigm Shifts in China's Go-Out Policy and the Belt and Road Initiative

• In Event: Measuring Politics

Abstract

The global reach of China’s new state-capitalist economy through signature state projects, such as the Go-Out Policy and the Belt and Road Initiative, has drawn considerable attention in recent international political economy and international security research. While researchers have often focused on the distinct features of Chinese state capital and the potential international backlash it may face, few have studied how China responds to emergent challenges and risks in the global economy by undertaking major paradigm shifts in these projects. Our paper addresses this gap by conducting a longitudinal textual analysis of Qiushi magazine, the Communist Party’s top theoretical journal, from 2013 to 2025. The findings show that China has markedly changed its position from portraying its global reach in a non-confrontational way that does not challenge the US-led international order to a more forthright stance that increasingly presents itself as a defender against Western hegemony, a facilitator of global economic cooperation as an alternative to trade protectionism, and a promoter of the interests of the majority of Global South countries.

Authors

• Dawei Chen, University of Toronto

• Ding Wang, York University

• Lynette H. Ong, University of Toronto

• Tong Wang, University of Toronto

• Hao Zheng, Renmin University of China

• Zhihang Yuan, Zhejiang University