Chinese directions in multilateralism

Abstract

The recent past has been marked by an increasing pivot away from multilateralism towards national interest and bilateral agreements. While most of the world has turned away from multilateralism, the People’s Republic of China has launched several ambitious international projects, including the Belt and Road Initiative. This paper considers how and why China would dedicate itself to such international outlook when it continues to fight internal pressure for growth and addressing the first stages of socialist development. The paper proposes that the answer lies not in any grand ideology, but in socialist materialism, a cycle of action and review which places emphasis on taking steps toward a goal, even where those steps may not be fully formulated.