Isolationist Foreign Policy is something that makes the country stay out from the affairs of other nations that means not entering into any sort of association or commitment regarding economics. Therefore putting all the efforts into the advancement of one’s own country rather than getting into foreign entanglements and responsibilities.
Chinese at one time
China is one of the countries that entertained Isolationism. In 1934 under the Ming dynasty it was proclaimed that there will be no foreign trade. They were so firm about the decision that they even stopped the building and repairing of Chinese Junks, the ships that were used in trading.
Many justifications were given for taking such a decision like they said that the Chinese economy was declining at that time and they decided to invest all the funds inside the country instead of making huge treasure ships for trading. The Confucian scholars were also gaining power in Chinese society. They had believed in ethnocentrism which means one way of living is natural and correct. This led to cultural ignorance, therefore isolation was much in support at that time.
China Today
Isolationism in China has become a past, from the last four decades china has taken a 180-degree turn. It has started trading and now has become one of the major powers and is on its way to becoming the biggest economy in the world. As more importance is now given to external affairs, including foreign policy goals.
China is developing at a rapid speed. Like in the 15th-century china was having isolated foreign policy. After that when china came back into trading in 1995, the value of China‘s imports and exports of goods totaled $280.9 billion or 3 percent of global trade. By recent reports of 2018, it has been seen that total trade of goods has elevated to $4.6 trillion or 12.4 percent of global trade. China’s export of goods is excelling as compare to the number of imports done annually. Like in 2018 China exported $2.49 trillion in goods while it imported $2.13 trillion.
Will China Return to Isolationism?
After so many years of external affairs, in the past decade, it can be observed that China is being more reclusive. It has been observed that the government is putting a restriction on the internet, they have even blocked some foreign websites that has unwanted information. They have also advised the teachers to not adopt textbooks that are written by western scholars. Even set limitations on traveling abroad.
The thing that makes seclusion more obvious is their independence in developing high-tech industries by President Xi Jinping. China seems to move back to its time in 1960s Isolation, but the question is are the people of China ready to go back to isolation. Mixed responses have been seen on this topic, as the leaders of the country seem to support isolation as it is easier to grow and keep the society stable in a limited environment.
If the country is in access to wider areas then it means there will be more pressure on the country to reform and fulfill the expectations of the people who are interested and invested in it. Which actually means a high level of risk. The people who are decedent of the people of the time 1949 to late 1970s believe that they can isolate and stabilize the country the same way it was before.
Although some people are not in favor of isolation as they don’t want to live like their neighbor North Korea and similarly the exporters who work with foreign countries based in China and earn on their exports.
Therefore there is a number of scenarios like either China will go in isolation, or they will be open to other countries. The other is “half seclusion”, which means that China wants to remain open for foreign trade and investment. Although China is still in Dilemma in which way to choose that will be best for the country.
As up till now you must have got the idea about China Isolationist foreign policy, I hope that it will help you in understanding the topic better and you can write on it or do your assignment on this topic if you are a student.
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Assignment help is there to provide you with work that is specific and according to the approach, they provide clarity in the topic as they do deep researching and proper referencing. Which makes your assignment stand out and will help you in achieving good grades. China is a developing country, they like giving importance to their country and people. They don’t like relying on other people for whatever reasons, this is the reason they implemented Isolation in the past. But in today’s world having foreign relations is very important for a country to prosper and become a superpower. Therefore it is being assumed that China is not going to go in complete isolation like it did in the 15th century.
