China's foreign policy and "soft power" in South America, Asia, and Africa: a study prepared for the Committee on Foreign Relations

Original publisher: Washington : U.S. G.P.O. : For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O., 2008. OCLC Number: (OCoLC)227801310 Subject: China -- Relations. Excerpt: ... 7 Table 1. Taiwan's 23 Official Relationships * Latin America and the Belize, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Hon-Caribbean ( 12 ) duras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines Africa ( 4 ) Burkina Faso, Gambia, Sao Tome and Principe, and Swaziland The Pacific ( 6 ) Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, the Solomon Is-lands, and Tuvalu Europe ( 1 ) The Vatican * As of February 2008 Increasing Its International Stature and Competing With U.S. Su-premacy After decades of international isolation, PRC leaders are pre-sumed also to place a high priority now on expanding and improv-ing China's global stature and influence and, where they can, on limiting or constraining the ability of the United States to interfere with or adversely affect PRC interests. Having come late to the global economic development party, China is seeking multiple international partnerships and groupings that make it, if not an in-dispensable player in the global system, then at least one whose in-13 terests must regularly be taken into account. Having embraced the international system, Beijing is seen to be maneuvering deftly for space and opportunities not already taken up by the United States - opportunities where it can have greater freedom of action. Lacking a formal system of alliances like those of the United States, the PRC has devised numerous other frameworks. These in-clude efforts to act: Through Bilateral Initiatives. - On a bilateral basis throughout Latin America, Asia, and Africa, PRC leaders have established Strategic Partnership Agreements, Friendship and Cooperative Partnership Agreements, Friendship Associations, and Free Trade Agreements, among other vehicles, to reinforce the notion that spe-cial economic relationships ex...