"This book offers a systematic study of China's great-power diplomacy under President Xi Jinping. It critically applies the Chinese concept of 'strategic opportunity,' which is defined by the national ambitions as set by the ruling communist party leadership, the opportunities and risks presented in the international environment, and the policy instruments at the nation's disposal. Applying the dynamic concept, the book identifies key Chinese beliefs that seek to best match its resources with its policy ends and investigates policy patterns in China's management of competition with the United States, the Belt and Road Initiative, economic statecraft, regional and global institutional orders, and its multipolar diplomacy. Taking seriously China's choice, Yong Deng challenges the mainstream structural analysis in international relations that focuses merely on rising powers' insecurity and discontent within the international system. His study shows how China, the major stakeholder in the world order, actually evaluates and actively seeks to control its international environment"

Yong Deng is Professor of Political Science at U.S. Naval Academy and recently held visiting positions at University of Hong Kong, the Nobel Institute, and Rajaratnam School of International Studies. He is author and co-editor of four previous books on Chinese foreign relations and Asian international relations, including China's Struggle for Status (Cambridge, 2008).

Preface; 1. Strategic opportunity and China's foreign policy; 2. The onset of great-power competition; 3. Credibility of the belt and road initiative; 4. Economic statecraft; 5. Institutional tactics; 6. Multipolarity and EU; 7. Conclusion.