China’s Global Strategy Under Xi Jinping

In this episode of Pekingology, Senior Fellow Henrietta Levin is joined by Steve Tsang, Director of the SOAS China Institute and co-author of the new book China’s Global Strategy under Xi Jinping, to discuss China’s ambitions under Xi Jinping and the ideas shaping Beijing’s approach to the world. They discuss the importance of Xi’s personal worldview in understanding Chinese foreign policy, how his consolidation of power has changed foreign policy decisionmaking, and the role of regime security, ideology, and nationalism in shaping China’s national interests. The conversation also explores why China’s vision for a new international order is inherently global, how the Global South concept has become central to China’s broader ideological ambitions and engagement with the world, and how Xi’s recent focus on economic and technological power supports China’s pursuit of global preeminence.