LONDON -- A new Chinese diplomacy is emerging from Beijing. Traditionally reactive to global events, China now sees itself forced to take on a proactive role in world affairs. The revolutionary phase of Chinese foreign policy is dead; now pragmatism has taken center-stage.
The sharp change is the consequence of the Bush administration's aggressive, unilateralist response to the 9/11 attacks, its "axis of evil" rhetoric and its willingness to pursue a "preemptive" defense.
With the United States painting North Korea into a corner, China brokered the six-party talks (with the U.S., Japan, Russia, North and South Korea) to try to resolve the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula. Without a solution, the knock-on impact could have China in an arms race with its Asian neighbors and the U.S. An arms race would threaten to divert massive resources from the civil economy into the military and break China's economic surge toward key-player status in global diplomacy.