Foreign Policy and the Chinese Constitutions During the Hu Jintao Administration
Posted: 25 Jul 2013 Last revised: 18 Oct 2015
Date Written: August 1, 2013
Abstract
To understand the normative aspects of Chinese foreign policy, one must consider China’s constitutions. China’s dual constitution system – that is, the nexus of governing power as outlined between the State Constitution and the Communist Party Constitution – provides both jurisdictional and substantive guidance to Chinese foreign policy makers. While this guidance has existed in letter for decades, the seamlessness between Chinese foreign policy and constitutional norms was especially apparent during the Hu Jintao administration (2002-2012). His government promoted the “Peaceful Development” formulation of Chinese foreign policy in tandem with the deep constitutionalism of the “Scientific Development Outlook” and its goal of creating a “Socialist Harmonious Society.” As this tripartite linkage became more explicit, China’s leaders claimed to fuse their foreign and domestic policies in an unprecedented way. This apparent seamlessness emanates from a proper application of the official Chinese Communist Party ideological line as refined from the time of Deng Xiaoping through its most recent manifestation, the Scientific Development Outlook. In this manner, the Chinese constitutional law of foreign policy has theoretically become a unique extraterritorial projection of “the rule of law with Chinese characteristics,” with room for both liberal and realist interpretations for future development.
This article begins by introducing the jurisdictional and substantive bases of the Chinese constitutional law of foreign policy. It then recalls the specific contributions of the Hu Administration and explains the linkage between the Scientific Development Outlook, the Socialist Harmonious Society platform, and the Peaceful Development strategy. After that, it posits how the Chinese constitutions may have informed foreign policy decision-making regarding some of the biggest challenges of the Hu Jintao era, and predicts that the principal constitutional challenge that China will face in the foreseeable future is securing the vast amount of resources it needs to maintain its domestic development while maintaining its constitutional commitment under the “Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence” to harmonious relations with the rest of the developing world.
Keywords: constitutional law, foreign policy, international relations, China, Scientific Development, Socialist Harmonious Society, Peaceful Development
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