Water diplomacy and China’s bid for soft power in the Mekong

This article investigates how China’s new policies and practices toward water issues in the Mekong subregion are reshaping hydropolitics and geopolitics. Despite its unmatched hard powers in the region, China suffers from a lack of soft powers in regional geopolitics generally and the transbound...

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Main Authors: Zhang, Li, Zhang, Hongzhou
Other Authors: S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/160280
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author Zhang, Li
Zhang, Hongzhou
author2 S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
author_facet S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Zhang, Li
Zhang, Hongzhou
author_sort Zhang, Li
collection NTU
description This article investigates how China’s new policies and practices toward water issues in the Mekong subregion are reshaping hydropolitics and geopolitics. Despite its unmatched hard powers in the region, China suffers from a lack of soft powers in regional geopolitics generally and the transboundary hydropolitics particularly. As the Mekong water conflict emerges as a major source of regional concerns toward its rise, China has been adopting water diplomacy in the Mekong subregion under the auspices of the newly established Lancang Mekong Cooperation (LMC) to consolidate its position as both the hydro-hegemon and regional power. On the one hand, China’s water diplomacy aims to increase the country’s persuasive and ideational powers to consolidate its status as the hydro-hegemon in the Mekong River Basin. On the other hand, China is also interested in exporting its development approach and promoting the common identity among regional countries through water diplomacy. Although these efforts have boosted its geopolitical cloud in the Mekong to some degree, China’s regional expansion has triggered counterefforts from both the Mekong countries and other major powers.
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spelling ntu-10356/1602802023-03-05T17:24:09Z Water diplomacy and China’s bid for soft power in the Mekong Zhang, Li Zhang, Hongzhou S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies Social sciences::Political science China Mekong This article investigates how China’s new policies and practices toward water issues in the Mekong subregion are reshaping hydropolitics and geopolitics. Despite its unmatched hard powers in the region, China suffers from a lack of soft powers in regional geopolitics generally and the transboundary hydropolitics particularly. As the Mekong water conflict emerges as a major source of regional concerns toward its rise, China has been adopting water diplomacy in the Mekong subregion under the auspices of the newly established Lancang Mekong Cooperation (LMC) to consolidate its position as both the hydro-hegemon and regional power. On the one hand, China’s water diplomacy aims to increase the country’s persuasive and ideational powers to consolidate its status as the hydro-hegemon in the Mekong River Basin. On the other hand, China is also interested in exporting its development approach and promoting the common identity among regional countries through water diplomacy. Although these efforts have boosted its geopolitical cloud in the Mekong to some degree, China’s regional expansion has triggered counterefforts from both the Mekong countries and other major powers. Published version This article was produced with the support of the National Social Science Fund of China (18CGJ016). 2022-07-18T08:38:52Z 2022-07-18T08:38:52Z 2021 Journal Article Zhang, L. & Zhang, H. (2021). Water diplomacy and China’s bid for soft power in the Mekong. The China Review, 21(4), 39-75. 1680-2012 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/160280 4 21 39 75 en The China Review © 2021 The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press. All rights reserved. This paper was published in The China Review and is made available with permission of The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press. application/pdf
spellingShingle Social sciences::Political science
China
Mekong
Zhang, Li
Zhang, Hongzhou
Water diplomacy and China’s bid for soft power in the Mekong
title Water diplomacy and China’s bid for soft power in the Mekong
title_full Water diplomacy and China’s bid for soft power in the Mekong
title_fullStr Water diplomacy and China’s bid for soft power in the Mekong
title_full_unstemmed Water diplomacy and China’s bid for soft power in the Mekong
title_short Water diplomacy and China’s bid for soft power in the Mekong
title_sort water diplomacy and china s bid for soft power in the mekong
topic Social sciences::Political science
China
Mekong
url https://hdl.handle.net/10356/160280
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