ABSTRACT
The co-emergence of stable domestic and international orders as a result of China's role taking in the world is not a constant. This chapter attests China's international role waxes and wanes over time, policy fields, and geographical areas. It make three points regarding the origins and consequences of the interplay between China's domestic order and internal role expectations, and external cues from China's most significant others. Domestic expectations matter most for foreign policy when underlying domestic political and economic structures produce stable and beneficial outcomes for the majority of the population. If these structures are too volatile, no effect on domestic expectations regarding foreign policy roles is discernable. The (People's Republic of China) PRC's international roles vary over time, scope, functional specification, and in their obligation to the respective group. More important in the short term is China's successful economic rise and integration into the world economy.
