CIGS Round-table Discussion："China's National Security Strategy of Peaceful Coexistence"

　 　
（Dr. Liselotte Odgaard、Mr. Kurihara from the left）

Presentation
Presentation by Dr. Liselotte OdgaardPDF：302KB

Meeting's outline
Title： "China's National Security Strategy of Peaceful Coexistence"
Speaker： Dr. Liselotte Odgaard
Associate Professor, Institute for Strategy, Royal Danish Defence College, Copenhagen, Denmark

Moderator： Mr. Jun Kurihara, Research Director, CIGS

Abstract
Peaceful coexistence is China's overarching foreign policy concept that guides China's interactions with other actors in the pursuit of its interests. The objective of coexistence is to allow China to continue its economic, social and military modernization process without jeopardizing relations with other states by allowing for different interpretations of the principles of international conduct. Coexistence engenders change in the status quo in two senses. First, China's continued modernization process involves a change in the regional balance of power in China's favour. Second, peaceful coexistence seeks to apply some of the traditional Chinese concepts of mediation rather than adversarial judicial resolution of problems as practiced in Western judicial systems. Therefore, it allows for different interpretations of international law and compromises instead of one universal interpretation and a winner/loser outcome. The seminar discussed to what extent China applied this coexistence strategy in its global security policy and in Asia and what the consequences were for peace and stability.