China e o princípio de não-alinhamento: a conveniência da relação sino-russa

Abstract

This research focuses on Chinese diplomacy and the principle of non-alignment, officially established in 1982, and the analysis and understanding of this concept and its implications in the political strategy adopted by China in recent years. With the main objective of understanding how the People's Republic of China (PRC) has used this strategy in its foreign relations, the relationship built between the PRC and the international community is explored from the historical resumption since the government of Mao Zedong and the various internal revolutions that shaped the image of the Asian country before the world until its consolidation as a global power. The relevance of the research is due to the growing influence of the Asian giant in the International System and how its foreign policy strategies in establishing bi and/or multilateral relations redefine its influence on other nations and international organizations. In addition, it is important to understand how China's diplomatic position becomes relevant in a period of changes in global geopolitics amid its growing competition with the United States. The study also analyzes how the Chinese government conveniently molds the principle of non-alignment to suit its needs, maintaining a position of diplomatic independence while establishing strategic partnerships with other States that increasingly expand their influence on the global stage. This paper uses a qualitative methodology, based on a bibliographic review and documentary analysis of primary and secondary sources, seeking to understand how the process of formation of Chinese foreign policy and the adoption of the principle of non-alignment explain the actions and strategies adopted by the Democratic Republic of China over the last 45 years. Furthermore, it uses as a case study the unique Sino-Russian relationship known as a “strategic partnership”, to understand what a consolidated bilateral relationship that does not classify as an alliance per se is like in practice. It also explores the debate and arguments of those who believe that this policy is obsolete and hinders China's progress in the search for a possible status of hegemony, while others defend the prevalence of the strategy as fundamental to the unrestricted growth, both individually and jointly, of China and its current partners. Therefore, based on the analysis of Chinese theorists, it is possible to understand how the principle of non-alignment is a fundamental tool for maintaining the country's relations and influence on the globe, while exempting it from the obligations that formal alliances imply and enabling the convenient adaptation of its strategies for global projection.