XIAOHONG LIU Xiaohong Liu brings twelve years of personal experience in the Chinese foreign service to this pathbreaking study. Drawing on her own direct observations, interviews, and newly available Chinese sources, she examines four generations of Chinese ambassadors, who served from 1949 to 1994. She charts the evolution of the Chinese diplomatic corps from its early military orientation to the emergence of career professionals and assesses the impact of various ambassadors on Chinese foreign policy. Chinese Ambassadors will appeal to readers interested in Chinese foreign affairs, international relations, and diplomacy.

Using recent archaeological findings and little-known archival material, Wang Zhenping introduces readers to the world of ancient Japan as it was evolving toward a centralized state. Competing Japanese tribal leaders engaged in "ambassador diplomacy" and actively sought Chinese support and recognition to strengthen their positions at home and to exert military influence on southern Korea. They requested, among other things, the bestowal of Chinese insignia: official titles, gold seals, and bronze mirrors. Successive Chinese courts used the bestowal (or denial) of the insignia to conduct geopolitics in East Asia. Wang explains in detail the rigorous criteria of the Chinese and Japanese courts in the selection of diplomats and how the two prepared for missions abroad. He journeys with a party of Japanese diplomats from their tearful farewell party to hardship on the high seas to their arrival amidst the splendors of Yangzhou and Changan and the Sui-Tang court. The depiction of these colorful events is combined with a sophisticated analysis of premodern diplomacy using the key concept of mutual self-interest and a discussion of two major modes of diplomatic communication: court reception and the exchange of state letters. Wang reveals how the parties involved conveyed diplomatic messages by making, accepting, or rejecting court ceremonial arrangements. Challenging the traditional view of China’s tributary system, he argues that it was not a unilateral tool of hegemony but rather a game of interest and power in which multiple partners modified the rules depending on changing historical circumstances.

Maybe you are familiar with the growth in recent decades of “majority world” missionaries being sent all over the world from non-Western countries (i.e., countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, Middle East). This book focuses on missionaries sent from one non-Western country, analyzing the experiences of Chinese missionaries on the mission field. The missionaries interviewed were sent from house churches in mainland China, have served overseas for at least two years, and are ministering cross-culturally to non-Chinese on the mission field. The first research question relates to Chinese missionaries’ successes and difficulties in cross-culturally building relationships with locals, learning the local language, and adjusting to the local culture. The second research question analyzes factors that have contributed to the Chinese missionaries remaining on the mission field. This included how pre-field preparation and on-field support contributed to their retention. Also analyzed were other challenges and needs the missionaries had on the field. The interviewees were serving in countries in Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.

This book is open access under a CC BY-NC-ND license. Ambassadors are a kind of vehicle and bellwether for globalization. These diplomatic envoys serve as pivotal contact points between nations across a wide range of fields, from economics and culture to health and the environment. The special group of ambassadors in this book – those based in Beijing – are at the forefront of what for many countries is one of their most important bilateral relationships, as well one of the most striking and consequential aspects of global affairs in the 21st century: the rise of China on the world stage. This book aims to present an overview of China and the world from diverse angles. It brings together essays by ambassadors to China on a range of bilateral and multilateral issues, including trade and investment, regional economic cooperation, sustainable development, technology and innovation, and entrepreneurship. Given their familiarity with China and extensive international experience, the insights of these ambassadors are useful for policymakers, academics, entrepreneurs, students, and anyone trying to make sense of our rapidly changing world.

While Americans are generally aware of China's ambitions as a global economic and military superpower, few understand just how deeply and assertively that country has already sought to influence American society. As the authors of this volume write, it is time for a wake-up call. In documenting the extent of Beijing's expanding influence operations inside the United States, they aim to raise awareness of China's efforts to penetrate and sway a range of American institutions: state and local governments, academic institutions, think tanks, media, and businesses. And they highlight other aspects of the propagandistic “discourse war” waged by the Chinese government and Communist Party leaders that are less expected and more alarming, such as their view of Chinese Americans as members of a worldwide Chinese diaspora that owes undefined allegiance to the so-called Motherland.Featuring ideas and policy proposals from leading China specialists, China's Influence and American Interests argues that a successful future relationship requires a rebalancing toward greater transparency, reciprocity, and fairness. Throughout, the authors also strongly state the importance of avoiding casting aspersions on Chinese and on Chinese Americans, who constitute a vital portion of American society. But if the United States is to fare well in this increasingly adversarial relationship with China, Americans must have a far better sense of that country's ambitions and methods than they do now.