Steve Tsang

Indeed, Beijing has launched a series of global initiatives on governance, security, development, and civilization which emphasize its own values and have fueled the fears of some in the West that China is seeking to replace the US as the world's dominant power.

So what are Xi Jinping's international ambitions? Well, that's the topic of a new book by Professor Steve Tsang, Director of the SOAS China Institute and a specialist on President Xi's ideology.

The book, China's Global Strategy Under Xi Jinping, co-authored with Olivia Cheng, highlights the Chinese leader's stated aim of achieving what he calls the China dream of national rejuvenation by 2050, and emphasizes that gaining control of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of its territory, is a key aspect of this.

It also looks at China's attempts to win the support of countries in the Global South for its ambitions.

Well, Steve Tsang, thank you very much for joining us on China in Context.

We'll discuss the book in detail in a moment, but first let's look briefly at last month's summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in Washington.

The two sides agreed to a two-month extension of their truce on trade tariffs and made some progress towards setting up this board of trade with each side offering to reduce tariffs on some $30 billion worth of products, including Chinese household goods and toys and US agricultural products, though not the all-important soybeans.

Because the UN Security Council can always be frustrated by one single veto by one of the permanent five, and China is one of them.

Talk to us a little bit about the latest military facility China has opened in Southeast Asia.

Yeah, this is, you know, first of all, there's a theory in a book that I really like by Steve Tsang and Olivia Chung that just was published in September, all about how Xi Jinping is trying to resurrect the Tiansha, the all under heaven kind of hierarchical relationship, but not a colonized empire.

And it's a very compelling argument where it says that look they don't want military They don't want overseas bases and colonization and yet here we see Not one but now the second base in Southeast Asia in just a couple of years because Riam in Cambodia Opened up after much denial that this is going to be a naval installation for the PLA and now in in the NTN In Laos, they have opened up another facility, a joint combat academy facility, but it's definitely a military base that China will be using.

So in addition to the base in Djibouti, which was of course precedent setting some time ago because China had four sworn overseas bases, now they have three overseas bases and two in Southeast Asia.

This is Peckingology.

I am very pleased to be joined today by Professor Steve Tsang, co-author of the new book, China's Global Strategy Under Xi Jinping.

Steve is also a professor of China studies and director of the China Institute at SOAS.

He is one of the world's leading experts on Chinese politics and contemporary foreign policy coming out of Beijing.

But was there any substance behind the pageantry? And should US partners in Europe feel concerned about Mr Trump's veneration of a leader variously classified as an autocrat or a dictator by allies and, indeed, parts of Congress? Let's get some answers from Steve.

Steve Tsang, the director of the SOAS China Institute and the author of a newly published book, China's Global Strategy under Xi Jinping.

And we'll also have from Milan, Ed Stocker, Monocle's Europe editor at large.

Welcome, Steve.

So it's a no-loss for Xi Jinping.

Thank you very much, Steve.

That's Steve Tsang, the director of the SOAS China Institute.

And Ed Stocker has been listening on the line from Milan.