China Steps Out: Beijing's Major Power Engagement with the Developing World

What are Beijing’s objectives towards the developing world and how they have evolved and been pursued over time? Featuring contributions by recognized experts, China Steps Out analyzes and explains China’s strategies in Southeast Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Africa, Middle East, and Latin America, and evaluates their effectiveness. This book explains how other countries perceive and respond to China’s growing engagement and influence. Each chapter is informed by the functionally organized academic literature and addresses a uniform set of questions about Beijing’s strategy. Using a regional approach, the authors are able to make comparisons among regions based on their economic, political, military, and social characteristics, and consider the unique features of Chinese engagement in each region and the developing world as a whole. China Steps Out will be of great interest to students and scholars of Chinese foreign policy, comparative political economy, and international relations.

Table of Contents:
Foreword: Kurt Campbell I. Background & History 1. China and the Developing World: A New Global Dynamic, Eisenman & Heginbotham 2. Expanding the "Strategic Periphery": A History of China’s Interaction with the Developing World, Derek Mitchell II. Regional Profiles 3. Southeast Asia, Eric Heginbotham 4. Central Asia, Matthew Oresman & Raffaello Pantucci 5. South Asia, Jeff M. Smith 6. Africa, Joshua Eisenman & David H. Shinn 7. Middle East and Arab Countries, Sarah Kaiser-Cross & Yufeng Mao 8. Latin America and the Caribbean, R. Evan Ellis III. Conclusions & Recommendations 9. China’s Evolving Power, Position, and Influence in the Developing World, Eisenman & Heginbotham APPENDIX I: DATA APPENDIX II: RELEVANT OFFICIAL WHITE PAPERS AS OF 2017 (Chronological)

About the Author :
Joshua Eisenman, PhD, is Assistant Professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at University of Texas at Austin, and Senior Fellow for China Studies at the American Foreign Policy Council. Eric Heginbotham, PhD, is Principal Research Scientist at the Center for International Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Review :
China Steps Out is a brilliant guide for both policy-makers and academics alike. The authors masterfully detail China's strategic goals and expansive relations with the developing world through comparative regional analyses and unique insights. Ambassador Paula Dobriansky, former Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs China Steps Out is the most up-to-date and comprehensive assessment of China's broad footprint across the developing world--examining relations with numerous regions of the "Global South" and the complex toolbox of instruments Beijing uses to advance its interests. This is the best textbook available on the subject, which should be read widely by students, scholars, journalists, the business community, and government officials. David Shambaugh, Gaston Sigur Professor of Asian Studies, Political Science & International Affairs, George Washington University China’s economic clout in the developing world is transforming geopolitics as nations from Latin America to Africa bandwagon, balance and bend under the weight of Beijing’s newfound influence. Eisenman and Heginbotham have brought together a first-rate team of scholars to assess China’s strategic intentions and the consequences and contradictions of Xi Jinping’s ambitious bid to lead the developing world. This new volume is a must-read for anyone trying to make sense of China's sudden and important impact around the globe. Michael Green, Associate Professor, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service Georgetown University. Former senior director for Asian affairs at the National Security Council China Steps Out captures the most important shift in the Xi Jinping era of Chinese foreign policy: China’s relations with the developing world. China’s relations with great powers are discussed in many books; this book, by contrast, is a rare study of the geographic areas where strategic competition between the U.S. and China will most likely play out. It’s well designed and executed chapters survey China’s “comprehensive engagement” strategies around the world, including Beijing's increasingly important military relationships. This is a valuable and balanced look at a critical topic for scholars and policymakers alike. Christopher P. Twomey, Associate Professor of National Security Affairs, Naval Postgraduate School Definitely the best book on its topic. Lynn T. White III, Asian Affairs