Abstract
Intriguingly, the title of this book combines international law and Chinese exceptionalism. One should note that under international law sovereign states are considered to have equal standing. Governed by international norms, international organizations and treaty regimes are devices to maintain peace, manage international affairs, and promote international cooperation in vital global matters. Most importantly, international law seeks to facilitate the equal participation of all states, in particular those that have fewer resources and less influence at the international level. To clarify the term ‘Chinese exceptionalism’, Congyan Cai alludes to the Bush doctrine’s reading of American exceptionalism, referring to an approach that thus disregards various elements of the international legal order. He proposes that ‘knowledge of American exceptionalism should help inform debates on the interplay between international law and China, a rising power that perhaps is the sole state with the potential to really challenge American hegemony and leadership in international society’ (p. 322).
Throughout the book, Cai mirrors China’s international posture to that of the United States. The currents in US–China relations also loom large in Cai’s account. The Introduction presents a description of international affairs rooted in realist international relations thinking, focusing on the bilateral relationship between the United States and China and pointing to the latter’s rapid expansion of power that clearly necessitates an investigation of the ‘relationship between international law and a rising China’ (p. 8).
To deconstruct Chinese exceptionalism in this setting, Cai refers to a 2011 government White Paper titled ‘China’s Peaceful Development’ that, according to him, builds on Chinese exceptionalism. Another example is the vision of building a ‘community with a shared future for mankind’ that, inserted in Article 35, became part of the Chinese Constitution in 2018. From this concept in particular, Cai discerns the components of Chinese exceptionalism in international affairs: state sovereignty, pacifism based on common security, and inclusionism based on national diversities. The danger is, as Cai points out, that the notion of inclusionism requires ‘that China’s particularities should be respected by other countries’ (p. 326) – the particularities of a rising power.
The chapters on international law and China’s rise (Chapter 2), state identity and legal policies (Chapter 3), China’s participation in international regimes (Chapter 4), and the role of international law in Chinese courts (Chapter 6) provide a solid basis for the reader to understand the historical background and potential predicaments that might arise from Chinese exceptionalism in the future.
For international legal scholars and practitioners, Chapters 5 and 7 are particularly enlightening. These chapters consider China’s evolving practice regarding international institutions and international dispute settlement. Chapter 5 discusses the country’s role in ‘traditional’ treaty-based multilateral organizations, its contribution to more informal groupings, and the workings of Chinese-led new institutions. Lawyers may opine that combining diverging forms of international cooperation in one chapter blurs the differences between international organizations and other informal forums. However, this subtly acknowledges one important element of China’s role in altering the international system: institutional and procedural matters seem to take a back seat to broad concepts and grand visions.
Chapter 7 on international dispute settlement also discloses novel tendencies. Interestingly, Cai deploys the term ‘lawfare’, a term that is not widely used by international legal scholars because some see it as a legal equivalence to the ubiquitous notion of ‘wolf warrior diplomacy’. The author identifies events where China suffered from lawfare waged by other states and describes how China utilizes international norms to advance its interests – again, a very realist way of analysing international legal developments. Yet, this also reveals an intrinsic quality of international legal scholarship in the People’s Republic of China. It is a habit of mind that can be found in many Chinese-language publications.
Cai’s book is an indispensable read. Students of China’s foreign policy and the leadership’s approach to international affairs will find a detailed overview of examples and developments that illuminate the topic. The book addresses both China’s dealings in traditional multilateral regimes and new forms of international cooperation that emerged during the last decade. The analysis of China’s positioning in the international legal order related to specific fields of international decision-making will also be of great interest to scholars of international relations.
No doubt, Cai’s book will be most valuable for international lawyers. They will benefit from its fresh perspective on many vital legal matters that have emerged as a result of China’s growing participation in international affairs, a number of which constitute yet unsolved international legal issues, such as the situation in the South China Sea. Cai’s comprehensive account enriches the international legal discourse and will definitely help international lawyers to refine their analysis of issues that arise from China’s actions. The impact of the coronavirus pandemic has accelerated many trends that the international community has been facing for years. Chinese exceptionalism in international affairs is here to stay, and Cai advises the international community to take it seriously.