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Department of Pacific Affairs · ANU College of Asia and the Pacific
Over the last two decades the Peoples Republic of China has become a major aid donor, trade partner, and source of investment in the Pacific Islands. This is one of the most significant developments in the region in recent times with implications for the diplomatic priorities of Pacific Islands states as well as the aspirations of ordinary Pacific Islanders. This course looks at the history of China’s rise, the nature of its interests in the region, as well as the response of more established external actors like Australia, New Zealand, and the United States to Beijing’s increased regional influence. This course will examine China’s changing role in the Pacific, with a focus on Pacific and Chinese perspectives. Students will gain a comprehensive understanding of the People’s Republic of China’s motivations for engaging with the Pacific, with a particular focus on Chinese state and non-state actors involved in aid, investment, migration and diplomacy in the Pacific.
Research Essay
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Podcast script
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Podcast
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
This course comprises some 65 hours of activity over 12 weeks, both interactive/seminar based and independent research. The course comprises a maximum of 3k words of assessment or the equivalent. Please note this is a general guide, averaged over the semester and the final hours ultimately depend on the individual's ability in reading and writing.
Not applicable Preliminary Reading Peter Cai (2017) Understanding China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Lowy Institute. William Callahan (2016) China’s “Asia Dream”: The Belt and Road Initiative and the New Regional Order. Asian Journal of Comparative Politics. 1-18. Rohan Fox and Matthew Dornan (2018) China in the Pacific: Is China engaged in “debt-trap diplomacy”? Dev Policy Blog, 8 November. Ryan Manuel (2019) Twists in the Belt and Road. China Leadership Monitor. 1-17. Jessica Marinaccio (2019) Rearticulating Diplomatic Relationships: Contextualizing Tuvalu-Taiwan Relations. The Contemporary Pacific. 31(2), 448-475. Alice Miller (2018) Valedictory: Analyzing the Chinese Leadership in an Era of Sex, Money, and Power. China Leadership Monitor. 57. 1-17. Graeme Smith (2013) Beijing’s orphans? New Chinese Investors in Papua New Guinea. Pacific Affairs. 86(2), 327-349. Graeme Smith and Terence Wesley-Smith (eds.) The China Alternative? Changing Geopolitics in the Pacific (ANU Press, 2020). Meg Taylor (2015) The Future of the Pacific Islands Forum and the Framework for Pacific Regionalism. In Greg Fry and Sandra Tarte (eds) The New Pacific Diplomacy. ANU Press. Anote Tong (2015) “Charting its Own Course”: A Paradigm Shift in Pacific Diplomacy. In Greg Fry and Sandra Tarte (eds) The New Pacific Diplomacy. ANU Press Joseph Torigian (2018) Historical Legacies and Leaders’ Worldviews: Communist Party History and Xi’s Learned (And Unlearned) Lessons. China Perspectives. 1–2: 7–15. Yu Changsen (2016) The Pacific Islands in China’s Geo-Strategic Thinking. In Michael Powles (ed) China and the Pacific: The View from Oceania. Victoria University Press. Denghua Zhang and Graeme Smith (2017) China’s foreign aid system: structure, agencies, and identities. Third World Quarterly. 38(10): 2330-2346. Denghua Zhang (2019) Comparing China’s and Taiwan’s Aid to the Pacific. DPA In Brief 2019/20. ANU, Department of Pacific Affairs.