EACS-2016. Book of Abstracts

Section 14 21st Biennial Conference of the European Association for Chinese Studies 169 This was forced by circumstances, so dispassionate recognition by the two parties and the more impor- tance was given to the suspicion betwain the two states. In fact, not until the visit of the King of Spain to China in 1978, with Deng Xiao Ping in the central of the power and the spanish transition began, when we can start talking about real exchange. In this story there is the figure of a particular person, the consul of Spain in Hong Kong (Larroque). Their movements and the support he found in certain people from the Chinese government, we understand the difficulties of a recognition of great political difficulties. Is a way to understand the special moment of the two countries and a good lesson about the real diplomatic politic. Matias dos Santos José Carlos (Teledifusão de Macau S.A.) China’s SARs and the One Belt One Road Strategy: a Soft Power Proposition Key words: OBOR, China’s diplomacy, Macau SAR, Hong Kong SAR, Soft Power The One Belt One Road strategy entails a comprehensive set of tools, which are in line with the instruments employed in China’s ongoing soft power offensive, shaped by a win-win narrative. As Joseph Nye stated, Soft Power refers to the ability to attract and leading others to do what you want, through resources such as culture, political values and foreign policies. In an expanded approach one can also include aid and investment alongside public diplomacy and involvement in international organizations. In this thread, the OBOR initiative is expansion of China’s diplomatic charm offensive over the past 15 years. As hybrid sub-state polities of China, the Special Administrative Regions of Macau and Hong Kong have been used as platforms for the projection of China’s global actorness taking advantage of their internal and external autonomy. Macau has been assigned with the task of playing a role in bringing China closer to the Portuguese Speaking countries, through a cooperation Forum established in 2013. In fact, Macau’s centuries-old Portuguese Speaking link is a complement to China’s OBOR, as it expands Beijing’s reach to the Atlantic, particularly the South Atlantic region. Hong Kong, as an international finance hub, has been performing a pivotal role in the internationalization of the renminbi. The Hong Kong government is keen on being a “super connector” for Chinese firms to go global, taking advan- tage of its mature market environment, with a pool of talents with expertise in finance, law, engineering management and other fields. Both SARs’ well-established relations with Europe and the networks with overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia are also important assets in this respect. This paper argues that Macau and Hong Kong possess unique distinctive features that can be utilized in China’s OBOR to add a soft power oriented layer to the overall strategy, with a fined-tuned focus on culture, public diplomacy and people-to-people exchanges. Mierzejewski Dominik (University of Lodz) Debating China's Identity Through Key words: China Foreign Policy, Social Theory of International Relations, “One Belt, One Road” “One Belt, One Road” proposal became an important issue of today’s discussions. In September 2013, during his speech at Kazakhstan Nazarbayev University, President Xi Jinping proposed establishing a Silk Road Economic Belt. Thus, by reviving the Silk Road diplomacy China presents itself as a global actor. Using the contructivist approach the paper discusses the major motiviation and action taken by the Chinese government. The paper is divided into three parts: social theory and China's identity driven motivation, discussing the reviving of the great history of China's former dynasties in the leadership speeches, comparing “One Belt, One Road” with China's traditional World order. In the first part the author presents the basic assumptions of Chinese IR schools by pointing non-material factors behind China's action under Xi Jinping. The second part discusses the historical background of “Silk Road Eco- nomic Belt” pointed by chairman Xi Jiping in his speech in Astana (September 2013). In this part the author analysis the approach of Western Han dynasty, Emperor Han Wudi and the missions chaired by Zhang Qian ( 张骞 ). The last section is dedicated to discussing the Chinese approach to its proposal of