The Construction of International Relations (IR) Theories in China

This paper reviews the debates among Chinese scholars regarding the development of Chinese International Relations (IR) theory. We demonstrate that these debates, which began in the 1980s, reflect an increasing awareness among local academics of the need to conceptualize IR theories with Chinese characteristics. This awareness stems from several factors: (i) the excessive dominance of Western models in explaining international politics and the necessity to build an IR theory that better captures China’s role, (ii) the need to revive classical Chinese political thought to interpret contemporary issues, and (iii) China’s political and economic rise, which demands innovative theoretical thinking to address this ascent. Consequently, we examine three prominent Chinese theoretical approaches—Zhao Tingyang’s Tianxia Theory, Yan Xuetong’s Moral Realism, and Qin Yaqing’s Relational Theory. To explore these points, we trace the trajectory of political thought in International Relations in China from the 1950s to the present day, focusing on the major intellectual movements that have shaped the complex academic landscape of Chinese IR theory and the current challenges in establishing a genuine Chinese School of IR.