11/ Instead of asking what Global China is, we should ask:
👀Who is using the term?
🌏In what context?
⚖️For what purpose?
“Global China” isn’t self-evident, it’s a story told. And those stories have real-world stakes.

Read in @dialogueshg.bsky.social: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

10/ So, why does Global China and its tensions and contradictions matter?
Because “Global China” isn’t just descriptive—it’s political. It’s used to justify:
🪖Militarization
🤝Diplomacy
🎭Cultural exchange
And it shapes how we interpret China’s role in global change.

9/ Path VI: Alternative
A common position of Global China is as a model for the Global South, think:
🛤️Belt and Road
🌍South–South Cooperation and Solidarity
🏛️BRICS, Global Development Initiative
But it’s not one-sided: some see China as a partner, others as a new hegemon.

8/ Path V: Threat
This path centers “Global China” as threatening, for instance:
⚠️To democracy
📦To supply chains
🌐To the world order
This narrative fuels military spending, decoupling, espionage fears. China, in turn, invokes external threats to justify domestic control.

7/ Path IV: Status
Is China a superpower? A “great power”? Still a developing nation?
This path highlights the debate over China’s position in the global hierarchy—and how both Chinese and Western institutions narrate this positionality.

6/ Path III: Bridge
Focuses on people-to-people ties like:
🌏Diaspora connections
🎓International students
🎨Cultural exchanges
This path of Global China is plural, grassroots, and collaborative, often centering civil society rather than the state.

5/ Path II: Integration
China is seen as entering or reshaping global systems—like capitalism, trade, and finance.
🔁The West frames China as joining the rules-based order
🔄China frames itself as redefining global norms
So, is China a follower or a rule-maker?

4/ Path I: Other
China is portrayed as deviant, dangerous, or fundamentally different.
👤 “Debt trap diplomacy”
👤 “Yellow Peril”
👤 Authoritarian threat
China’s state media also leans on this frame—claiming Chinese exceptionalism in contrast to the West.

3/ We found that “Global China” works like a mirror—it reflects the priorities and politics of whoever uses it. We traced how different actors use the term and identified six dominant paths that shape its meaning.

2/ “Global China” is everywhere, from headlines about TikTok to debates on Chinese investment. It appears in millions of sources:
🔹Media coverage
🔹Think tank reports
🔹Academic studies
🔹Cultural references
to describe everything from infrastructure to education exchanges.