Xi Jinping’s ‘Major Country Diplomacy’: The Role of Leadership in Foreign Policy Transformation

Chinese foreign policy and the conduct of China’s diplomacy have undergone tremendous transformation under Xi Jinping’s leadership since 2012. How can scholars explain the foreign policy transformation under Xi Jinping? As Chinese power rises fast, do the new power status and the changing balance of power lead to the foreign policy change, or does the more confident leadership play the ‘game changer’ role? The author argues that international structural changes alone cannot explain the foreign policy shift, and Xi Jinping’s leadership has played a key role in transforming Chinese foreign policy since 2012, elevating it to a new height of ‘major country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics,’ a brand name for the transformed Chinese foreign policy. Xi’s leadership role not only affects the redefinition of the vision and mission of Chinese diplomacy, but also leads to institutional restructuring of Chinese foreign and security policy apparatus.