China’s foreign policy has shifted in recent years from a low-profile approach to a more proactive one. This change is evident in China’s growing diplomatic, economic, and military influence. John Garver and Tong Zhao discuss China’s growing role in global affairs and how the United States and countries in the Asia-Pacific view this geopolitical shift.

In the second half of this two-part podcast, Garver provides a historical overview of U.S. strategic objectives in the Pacific and highlights how they are shaping U.S.-China relations today. He also discusses the implications of Xi Jinping’s proposal of mutual respect for core interests for U.S.-China diplomatic engagement in the future.

John Garver

John Garver is a professor of international affairs at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Sam Nunn School of International Affairs. He specializes in and has written extensively on Asian international relations and China’s foreign relations.

Tong Zhao

Tong Zhao is an associate in Carnegie’s Nuclear Policy Program based at the Carnegie–Tsinghua Center for Global Policy. His research focuses on strategic security issues, including nuclear arms control, nonproliferation, missile defense, strategic stability, and China’s security and foreign policy.