중국의 대외전략: 동북아 및 한반도 정책을 중심으로

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to identify China's grand strategy under Hu Jintao of the "Fourth Generation Core" group. A grand strategy is taken to mean a set of fundamental principles and guidelines for a sovereign state's foreign relations. To this end, the article takes two analytical steps. First, it defines general guiding principles of Chinese foreign policy under Hu Jintao by investigating major bilateral relationships and significant issues facing China. Second, it places the general principles in the context of Northeast Asian and Korean international politics.Major findings of this article are as follows: (1) China's grand strategy aims at, among other things, boosting "comprehensive national power" (Zhongheguoli) to enhance Chinese status in a future world. To this end, China should create a peaceful international environment so that she can concentrate on economic development; then bring about national unification with Taiwan. China's grand strategy also emphasizes the fact that "China will never seek hegemony and will never go in for expansion" and is dedicated to the proposition that all nations are created equal. China also embraces multipolarity and ‘qiutongcunyi’ peaceful coexistence, Chinese style; (2) To understand China's grand strategy and place it in the context of the two Koreas and US-China rivalry is of significant importance. The US-Chinese relationship is driven by competitive power politics. According to conventional alliance theories, Korea could opt to join the Chinese side to bandwagon with the rising power. But some Korean strategists and policy makers have rejected this option as unrealistic and unpalatable.