ABSTRACT
People and policies The decision-making processes guiding the development of Chinese foreign policy have traditionally been difficult to observe, especially from outside of the country. An attempt to examine the people and agencies responsible for the country’s foreign policy development often provides only partial explanations or insights into Beijing’s current or future policies. However, what can be argued is that the current perception of China’s international relations as being decided by a very centralised and cloistered elite in Beijing is no longer as valid as it was previously, even under the government of Xi Jinping, as he has taken on a more direct role in both domestic and international affairs in China compared with recent previous leaders. The number of actors who participate in the formation of the country’s foreign policy has grown both within the Chinese government as well as increasingly outside of it, and this trend is certain to continue as China’s international interests grow and diversify. This chapter will examine the principal governmental actors and organisations responsible for crafting Chinese foreign policy today, beginning with the upper tier of the Chinese government and working towards lower-level government actors and others with much looser ties to the CCP.
