Antiliberal Interventionism in Chinese Foreign Policy

Liberal interventionism invokes humanitarian imperatives to justify interference in the domestic affairs of sovereign states. China, however, has emerged as a vocal critic of this paradigm, advancing a distinct antiliberal interventionist stance rooted in three core principles: absolute sovereignty, state consent, and no‐strings‐attached developmentalism. This article examines how Beijing operationalizes these principles to pursue an illiberal interventionist agenda that both insulates its authoritarian governance model and promotes a global order divergent from liberal norms. While rhetorically opposing liberal interventionism, China simultaneously engages in subtle and pragmatic forms of intervention, particularly in the Global South, where its development model appeals to regimes resistant to Western conditionalities. Ultimately, China's antiliberal interventionism functions as both a defensive shield and a potent offensive tool in its broader ideological and geopolitical contest with the United States.