Assessing Alternative Alignments: China’s Reception of the Quad, Aukus and IPEF

Written by

Ed.

Summary:

Under President Xi Jinping, China has developed its own vision of political and strategic order on a global scale, with the Belt Road Initiative (BRI) being a major part of it. Anchoring itself in over 150 countries and organizations, the colossal undertaking instigated a new literature on how it should be understood in the context of inter-state dynamics, world order and power distribution. The BRI also precipitated a number of alternative alignments from major Western economies such as the US, Japan and the EU that involve both infrastructure-specific initiatives and broader foreign and security policy objectives in the Indo-Pacific region. Over a decade since the BRI’s inception, the menu of these alternatives has become significantly longer, yet we still know little about how their standalone policies compare and how they are perceived and received by Beijing. This chapter considers three of the major alternative alignments to counter Chinese influence, namely: (1) the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD), (2) AUKUS, and (3) Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF). It directs analysis to the alternatives’ major attributes and evolutions before comparing and contrasting China’s reception of them. Analysis is based on a review of government statements, academic literature, policy documents and media articles.

Published year: 2025
Full version: https://www.routledge.com/Security-Order-and-Strategic-Alignment-in-Europe-and-the-Asia-Pacific-Times-of-Global-Power-Shifts/Atanassova-Cornelis-Sato-Sauer/p/book/9781032821825
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003503378
Publisher: Routledge
Language: English

Themes

Written by

Wrenn Yennie Lindgren

Senior Research Fellow