Rapid changes in power relativities inevitably aggravate security fears among smaller, weaker states and those in relative decline. The closer these states are to the major power and the deeper their historical relationships with it, the more this is true. It is preponderant on rising or remerging major powers to assuage these worries in word and action. If not, the rising or reemerging power will face resistance. Under Xi Jinping, Chinese foreign policy has embraced China’s status as the leading power in East Asia and one of two major powers globally. Acceptance and support for China’s new major power status and corresponding regional initiatives like the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and a “new Asian security order” face three particular challenges in East Asia. The first challenge is increasingly public concerns about possible future Chinese hegemony with the East and South China Sea disputes, in particular aggravating these worries among the non-Chinese disputants. The second challenge is the disruption of the liberal virtuous cycle between growing economic interdependence and more aligned strategic interests and greater strategic trust. The third is the strengthening of alliance and security partnerships between the United States and a growing number of East Asian states from Vietnam and Singapore to the Philippines and Japan. Chinese foreign policy under and after Xi Jinping will have to respond to these concerns and reassure its East Asian neighbours in order to succeed.

China's Power Status Change: East Asian Challenges for Xi Jinping's Foreign Policy

Source of documents：China Quarterly of International Strategic Studies