Eurázsia szemle Volume V issue 2

The primary driving force behind the global changes unfolding before our eyes is the rise of China. For millennia, the East Asian giant occupied a central position, only to be pushed to the periphery from the 19th century onwards. In recent decades, however, it has been marching inexorably back towards the centre − a long march that is transforming the entire world.

China’s rapid economic ascent, strategic assertiveness, cultural projection, and intellectual self-reflection have together produced a presence that is impossible to ignore, simultaneously commanding admiration, anxiety, and critical inquiry. The narratives surrounding China’s rise are as multifaceted as the transformations taking place within China itself. Whether interpreted as a revisionist challenger, a civilisational actor, or a developmental success story, China’s trajectory calls for a nuanced and interdisciplinary assessment. This issue of Eurázsia Szemle brings together such an assessment, engaging with the philosophical, economic, educational, strategic, and discursive dimensions of China’s contemporary global engagement.

The issue opens with Eric Hendriks’s investigation into the philosophical underpinnings of China’s global imaginary through the lens of tianxia, a classical Chinese concept meaning “all under heaven”. In contemporary Chinese political and intellectual discourse, tianxia has been revived not as a nostalgic relic, but as a conceptual tool to reimagine China’s place in the world. Hendriks argues that tianxia-ism contests the very epistemological foundations of globalisation. Rather than entering into a pre-existing world system, tianxia thought situates China as a civilisational origin point from which world-order radiates. This perspective challenges the conventional liberal frameworks of international relations and calls for a reassessment of what it means for China to be a “global” actor. The article offers a valuable theoretical entry point for the rest of the issue, setting the stage for debates over how China relates to the world, not merely as a participant, but as a potential shaper of worldhood itself.

Philip Pilkington follows with an incisive periodisation of China’s economic development, offering an account that resists simplistic binaries of market versus planning. Through six distinct stages, beginning with the post-Great Leap Forward era and culminating in China’s contemporary turn towards technological sovereignty, Pilkington reveals the dynamic adaptability of the Chinese economic model. He challenges prevailing Western assumptions about China’s trajectory and draws attention to how China blends elements of mercantilism, capitalism, and state planning into a hybrid form. This article serves as a critical intervention in the ongoing debate over whether China conforms

to, diverges from, or redefines existing economic paradigms. Importantly, it reminds readers that economic development in China cannot be understood without attending to the ideological, political, and institutional innovations that have underpinned it.

Soft power, as one such domain of innovation, is the subject of Wang Qiuping’s contribution. Beginning with Joseph Nye’s foundational concept, Wang examines how Chinese thinkers and policymakers have localised soft power in ways that reflect China’s own civilisational values and strategic objectives. Culture, history, and development achievements form the bedrock of this reconfigured soft power, which is seen not merely as image management but as a form of international influence embedded in policy, most notably through the Belt and Road Initiative. Wang’s analysis highlights the dual effort to blend tradition with modernity and to craft a form of soft power that aligns with China’s broader goal of contributing to global governance. The article sheds light on how China seeks not only to be heard on the global stage but also to shape the terms of discourse itself.

Duan Shuangxi’s article turns to another foundational pillar of China’s transformation: the higher education system. Tracing the evolution from imperial examinations through phases of Western emulation and engineering-focused expansion to the current push for world-class universities, Duan situates educational reform as a strategic imperative. With the release of the Outline for Building a Strong Education Nation (2024–2035), China is responding to demographic pressures, technological changes, and global competition by fostering institutional autonomy, AI-driven governance, and international partnerships. Duan’s contribution emphasises that education is not only a domestic policy priority but also a domain through which China builds human capital, global prestige, and long-term soft power.

Ramachandra Byrappa brings the discussion to the evolving dynamics of the Global South, a term whose salience has been unexpectedly revived in the wake of geopolitical shifts such as the war in Ukraine. His article contrasts the different relationships that India and China maintain with the Global South: for India, a deeply rooted identity; for China, an increasingly vital strategic frontier. Byrappa interrogates the trust factor that underlies South–South relations and suggests that mutual perceptions between India and China − ranging from rivalry to ambivalence − could decisively shape the trajectory of cooperation or fragmentation in the Global South. This article adds a vital geopolitical and normative layer to the issue, questioning the unity of non-Western powers and the sustainability of emerging South–South solidarities.

China’s growing assertiveness in the maritime sphere is the subject of the article by Danilo Lorenzo Delos Santos and Zoltán Vörös. Focusing on the South China Sea dispute, Delos Santos and Vörös analyse China’s transition from a narrative of peaceful rise to a posture marked by strategic ambiguity and territorial assertiveness. Drawing on neorealist and neo-institutionalist theories, as well as middle-power dynamics, they explore how the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries − particularly the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam − have responded through strategies of hedging, balancing, and limited appeasement. The article provides not only a detailed account of regional responses but also situates the maritime dispute within China’s broader grand strategy. It makes a compelling case for why narrative control has become a key battleground in geopolitical rivalry.

The last article in the issue is Ágota Révész’s empirical study of how China is represented in German media between 2018 and 2024. Through a quantitative content analysis, Révész documents a marked increase in negative coverage, with China increasingly framed through the language of threat, espionage, and systemic rivalry. This shift corresponds to political developments such as Xi Jinping’s term extension, China’s industrial policy moves, and high-profile acquisitions of German firms. The article highlights the role of media in shaping public perceptions and policy orientations, and illustrates how European views of China have hardened, complicating efforts at dialogue and cooperation. Révész’s contribution turns the analytical gaze back onto the West, reminding us that the global reception of China is as complex and contested as China’s own efforts at global positioning.

The issue concludes with a conference report and two reviews dealing with important new books on China’s rise.

Taken together, the articles in this special issue reveal that understanding China’s role in the 21st century requires more than tracking its material rise. It calls for a serious engagement with its ideas, narratives, aspirations, and contradictions. From philosophy to soft power, from economic modelling to international education, from strategic rivalry to media discourse, the contributions herein reflect the diversity of ways in which China’s global presence is articulated, contested, and experienced. By approaching China as both an object and subject of global transformation, this issue of Eurázsia Szemle offers readers new conceptual tools and empirical insights for navigating the complexities of the current era − an era in which Eurasia, and China in particular, stands at the very heart of unfolding global change.