In the modern era, interactions between states are an inescapable feature of the international system. Such interactions need to be conducted in a systematic manner and according to defined principles and rules. The purpose of a state in such a system is reflected in its foreign policy. Indeed, a state’s approach towards others is determined through the lenses of foreign policy. Foreign policies project the interests of a country abroad with the primary intention of protecting state sovereignty, territorial integrity and the protection of its citizens abroad. In the absence of foreign policy, predictability within the international system would be severely hampered with disastrous consequences for prevailing international order. Foreign policies are dynamic documents in response to prevailing circumstances. The level of foreign policy dynamism, however, varies from state to state. While some state’s foreign policies will tend to shift as governments change, others are notorious for their continuity with past practices. China’s foreign policy has remained relatively static since the reforms adopted after the end of the Mao era (Swane, 2016) . Shifts can , however, be seen under the leadership of the incumbent Chinese leader Xi Jinping (Doshi, 2017) . It will be demonstrated here that foreign policy shifts are not only important in achieving strategic national interests but also vital tools in a leader’s quest to attain domestic goals that may include aggrandization of power.
The advent of Xi Jinping into the helm of communist leadership has witnessed changes in China’s foreign policy despite a degree of continuity. Since the early 1980’s, China’s foreign policy has been influenced by the principles adopted under Deng Xiaoping leadership. The key features of this foreign policy have been the promotion of an amicable external environment that is conducive for sustainable economic development, promotion of collaboration and cooperation in relations between states and China and maintenance of good relations with China’s neighbors. Other features include the opposition to adversarial tendencies characterized by expansionism, power politics and hegemonism; opposition to zero-sum relations between states; a military policy that eschews arms race and military threats; a resolute defense of China’s territorial integrity, security, sovereignty and development interests and a commitment to an open world economy (Swane, 2016) . These fundamental elements have formed the foundation of Chinese foreign policy since the reform period of the late 1970’s though some can, in fact, be traced to the 1949 PRC (Tao, 2017) .
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While President Xi might have stuck to some of these norms in his foreign policy, there are clear areas of departure. During the 19 th Communist Party National Congress, president Xi Jinping proclaimed that China has ushered in a new era and was firmly on course to attaining the Chinese dream (Tao, 2017) . An analysis of the past six years that President Xi has been in power thus reveals his foreign policy approach that undergirds this new era. Perhaps the most discernible feature of this era has been China’s economic embrace of the outside world. Unlike the United States under President Donald Trump that has expressed its intention to put a hold on free trade, migration, and globalization, China has continued to maintain an open door economic policy with a keen eye on foreign investments. In the past half-decade, China has hosted five major summits: The G20 Hangzhou Summit; the ninth BRICS Summit; the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit; the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures and the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. These represent the highest number of high-level global economic meetings that any country in the region has hosted. On top of these, many other forums have attracted world leaders including the 70 th anniversary of Chinese victory over Japan in World War II (Tao, 2017) .
A further demonstration of this regime’s eagerness to embrace the world has been the number of foreign trips that President Xi has undertaken more than any of his predecessors have. Since 2013, he has been in over twenty-eight overseas visits that have taken him to over 56 countries, five continents, and headquarters of key regional and international bodies. Moreover, China has grown its role in global development over this time most notably through the establishment of Asian Development Bank, the new Development Bank and the Silk Road Fund, which are multilateral institutions that command in excess of $200 billion in capital (Tao, 2017) .
In the same period, President Xi has introduced four new concepts into Chinese foreign policy: A new type of international relations characterized by a win-win situation; diplomacy with Chinese characteristics; a new way of major country relations and a global community that has a common destiny. These concepts, which herald the kind of international order that China would want to create once it emerges as a global power (unipole), have been vigorously debated in both Chinese and western media (Doshi, 2017) .
In the South China Sea, China under Xi has adopted a more assertive stance leading to relations fraught with problems with her neighbors (Sinaga, 2015) . Her grand new strategy in the region has attracted considerable international attention. China has been actively conducting military exercises in the disputed territory to strengthen her claims. Regular boat patrols are sent to the area with military airstrips and posts being built on some of these islands. It has also unilaterally declared an air defense identification zone in the East China Sea leading to fear that it might take similar action in the South China Sea. Besides these intensified military activities, the placement of an oil rig in 2014 in a location considered an exclusive economic zone of Vietnam led to tremendous anti-Chinese protestations in Hanoi (Nathan, 2017) . China has also conducted extensive land reclamation in the South China Sea. Neighboring countries have argued it is an affront to article 121 of the law of the sea that explicitly bars the claiming of nay-submerged features of the sea such as shoals. The most massive reclamation took place in 2014 on the Johnson South Reef, and similar acts have continued in the Duncan, woody, and Drummond islands. This more assertive posture in the South China Sea is in contrast to the more moderate position that the country has taken on the South China Sea in the past more so under Hu Jintao (Sinaga, 2015) .
President Xi’s foreign policy undoubtedly has to do with the desire to attain what has been termed as ‘China dream,’ a vision he is closely associated with. At its core, it seeks the rejuvenation of the Chinese society by the year 2049 when the 100 th anniversary of Communist China will take place. By this time, it is hoped that China will have turned into a wealthy socialist country. Indeed, if Xi’s foreign policy is anything to go by, then the ‘China dream’ aims at not just a prosperous China but also a global power that is committed and able to remake the prevailing world order (Nien-Chung & Liao, 2016) . The already visible success of Xi’s policies seems to be yielding fruits with nationalistic and patriotic sentiments being on the rise in China. Research shows that Chinese pride in their country has increased steadily since 2012 and President Xi has been keen to tap into this sentiment. He has gradually increased his powers within the Communist Party, eviscerated rivals, and dealt with dissenting voices with little to no protest from the Chinese public. He has already been termed the most influential and decisive leader since Mao Zedong, and there is the talk of him breaking the tradition of a two-year term as the general secretary of the Communist Party. There is little doubt that this has been accomplished by tapping into the seeming success of his foreign policy.
References
Doshi, R. (2017). Xi Jinping just made it clear where China's foreign policy is headed. The Washington Post .
Nathan, A. (2017). What Is Xi Jinping Afraid Of? China’s Regime Is Less Secure Than It Looks. Foreign Affairs .
Nien-Chung, & Liao, C. (2016). China’s New Foreign Policy under Xi Jinping. Journal on Asian Security , 82-91.
Sinaga, L. (2015). China's Assertive Foreign Policy in South China Sea Under Xi Jinping: Its Impact on United States and Australian Foreign Policy. Journal of Asian Studies, 3 (2), 133-149.
Swane, M. (2016). Xi Jinping on Chinese Foreign Relations: The Governance of China and Chinese Commentary. The Hoover Institution .
Tao, X. (2017). Chinese Foreign Policy with Xi Jinping Characteristics. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
