Daring to Struggle

Book excerpt: "Increasingly powerful, prosperous, and authoritarian, China under the leadership of Xi Jinping has become a more intense competitor across the globe-economically, technologically, diplomatically, militarily, and in seeking to influence people's hearts and minds. But what does China ultimately want in the world? This timely and illuminating book explains the fundamental motivations driving the country's more dynamic, assertive, and risk-taking approach to the world under Xi Jinping. With original and perceptive analysis, Daring to Struggle focuses on six increasingly important interests for today's China-legitimacy, sovereignty, wealth, power, leadership, and ideas-and details how the determined pursuit of them at home and abroad profoundly shapes its foreign relationships, contributing to a more contested strategic environment in the Indo-Pacific and beyond. The book offers rich insights on the increasing role of the Chinese Communist Party in the country's international affairs, the looming risks of conflict in areas of contested sovereignty around China's periphery, Beijing's dramatically changing approach to foreign economic relations, its expanding use of economic leverage and military coercion, China's aspirations to greater leadership in global governance, and the well-resourced promotion of its ideas, image and influence across the world. This lively and accessible perspective on China's global ambitions draws from authoritative Chinese-language sources. The resulting analysis will inform policymakers, executives, China watchers, students, and other globally engaged citizens seeking to understand China's ambitions and how our governments and societies can respond"--