【Report】Summary of the lecture by Tristan Kenderdine

Title: Typological Approaches to Complexity in China’s Foreign Policy: What was the Belt and Road Anyway? A Typology of Typologies

On November 27, Tristan Kenderdine, founder and research director of Future Risk and executive editor at Hansa Press, delivered a presentation on typological approaches to complexity in China’s foreign policy.

He began his presentation by outlining the dominant theoretical discussion in International Relations theory and China’s response to this debate. He addressed China’s attempts to create a new form of Realism and its interaction with existing Realist theoretical frameworks.

Kenderdine then explained existing and new typological approaches to China’s foreign policy thought and formation. He then presented prototype typologies concerning China’s foreign policy in general, encompassing its approach towards Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and, ultimately, its grand foreign policy. In this section of the presentation, he discussed his personal experiences in China and several Central Asian nations.

In the final part of his presentation, Kenderdine presented his novel three-dimensional framework for understanding the complexity of China’s foreign policy. He stated that his approach is a new form of neo-constructivism, applicable to many different cases, and provides a distinctive framework for understanding the complexities of China’s foreign policy.

During the Q&A session, the audience raised many interesting questions, such topics related to China’s national security, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and China’s stance on the war, China’s economic power and its future, and particularly the Kenderdine’s experiences on the ground.