<Research Notes>Constructivism and China's International Engagement : Deng's Era to Xi and Trump

This paper critically examines constructivism in explaining China's rise, whichrequires Beijing to give certain credits to entering international institutions for itseconomic purposes. By employing constructivist theory, as proposed byAlexander Wendt, rather than focusing solely on power-driven realism andcooperation-focused liberalism, we can gaina d eeperu nderstandingo fin terstaterelations that is grounded in interaction and socialization. Drawing on Qin's thesis,awell-known Chinese constructivist scholar, this paper engages in a discussion ofthe Chinese "image-building" process to integrate into international society, aswell as the image degradation by Trump in the late 2010s.