Where do we see China’s changes? What are the guiding principles behind these changes? Are China’s diplomatic policies and international strategies more reflective of its own national conditions or international trends? How will China balance its ideology with national interests? How does China see the current international order and its new position within the existing order? Besides answering these basic questions, this volume considers two other important issues: First, the future of China after its era of continuous high-speed growth; and second, (the all-important question in China’s foreign affairs) the future of Sino-US relations?

2013 was China’s first year under new leadership, and there is a consensus amongst researchers of China’s international affairs that the diplomatic practices China undertook to a great extent demonstrated new characteristics, perspectives, and requirements of the new leadership.