Abstract:
The Belt and Road Initiative is an unprecedented megaproject and the Chinese government has successfully convinced an increasing number of countries to join in. At the same time, the Western world fears that the initiative is a threat to the global order. This thesis analyses China’s response to this Western fear of the Belt and Road Initiative as a way to understanding China’s behaviour vis-à-vis other states. Traditional approaches overlook important social dynamics clarifying states’ behaviour. Therefore, this thesis makes use of the English School’s perspective and studies China’s foreign policy discourse by means of an interpretative case study. The English School’s ideal modes of international interactions are extended to include suitable discursive strategies. China’s response in foreign policy discourse shows that China values diplomatic mores and seemingly identifies itself as part of an international society. As China sees itself as a cooperation partner, so should others to enable fruitful interaction.
