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 perceive this geopolitical shift.

In the first half of this two-part podcast, Garver focuses on China’s relations with neighboring countries, especially on how China can manage its complicated territorial disputes with Japan and the Philippines. Garver also offers his thoughts on whether China’s key neighbors and the United States will accept China’s growing power or jointly attempt to hedge against its rise.

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.