The China ruled over by General Secretary of the CCP Xi Jinping since 2012 has come a long way from the divisions and weakness of the early 20th century. It is now recognized by all as an up-and-coming superpower capable of rivalling the US and putting its mark on international order. It seems eager to do so, especially in Asia, its immediate surrounding which it often calls its ‘periphery’ (zhoubian). In this chapter and the two following ones, we will examine how the traditional ideal of hierarchical order outlined earlier in this book, in the transformed shape it took during China’s encounter with the modern society of nation states, continues to impact the country’s foreign policy in Asia to this day. We will focus mainly on the contemporary period dominated by the figure of Xi Jinping, but will also trace back some of the features of China’s vision for order today to their origins in earlier periods of the history of the People’s Republic, namely the Maoist period (1949–1978) and the 30 years following the beginning of reform and opening under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping (1979–2008).

There is close to a consensus among analysts on this threefold division of the history of the PRC. This is certainly how Xi Jinping himself wishes to portray his country’s trajectory. He presents himself as the most transformative Chinese leader since Deng Xiaoping at least, and promotes his own ‘thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era’ (xin shidai Zhongguo tese shihui zhuyi sixiang) accompanied by a new ‘principal contradiction’ to succeed that of the reform era, in conformity with the CCP’s Marxist ideological framework. Considering the CCP’s determination to shape the narrative of China’s ‘road to rejuvenation’ under its leadership, the official line advanced by the General Secretary and his team carries significant weight.

Many outside observers have in fact adopted similar demarcation lines between the era dominated by Mao Zedong, that launched by Deng Xiaoping and the current one (for example, Amako, 2014; Economy, 2018; Minzner, 2018).