The foreign policy of Xi Jinping after the 19th Congress: China strives for a central role on the world stage

The Elcano Royal Institute is a think-tank for international and strategic studies that analyses world events and trends from a Spanish, European and global perspective.

The Analyses of the Elcano Royal Institute (ARI)are short pieces - of around 3,000 words - on aspects of current international affairs considered to be of relevance to Spain, its foreign policy or its security. In broad terms ARIs are intended to have a predictive bearing on events.Over the coming five years Xi Jinping will undertake a more assertive foreign policy aimed at increasing Chinese influence on global governance and within its region. China’s growing surge positions it as a global power that can serve as a model for other countries and as a leader in the effort to guarantee global public goods. The ‘low profile’ foreign policy, designed a quarter of a century ago by Deng Xiaoping, is being left behind for a new road map designed to turn China into a moderately wealthy society by 2020, a developed country by 2035 and a first-rate national power with a world class military by 2050.