China’s impact on the Development of International Law. A Study of China’s State Practice in the United Nations Security Council

The international order has been characterized since the end of the cold war by having one leading superpower, the United States. With the rise of China and political populism, a tipping point has arrived for globalization. The leading role of the United States has been deteriorating and we are now evolving towards the establishment of a multipolar – some even say bipolar – world order. One of the key players in the global arena will undoubtedly be China with its rising regional and global influence. An in-depth study of China’s laws and policies and its application of international law is of high relevance to understand China’s influence in shaping the global order. Such research should take a look at China’s policies and their compatibility with, for example, international trade law, human rights law and public international law. The aim of this doctoral research will be to understand how the Chinese government implements its own laws and policies and the underlying rationale for such use, namely the envisioned legal and political consequences from a Chinese perspective. A prominent question throughout this research will be whether such implementation is compatible with international law and what the overall repercussions will be for global governance. By way of this research, one will be able to better foresee and prepare for China’s rising influence by formulating a well-informed China policy. Other global actors, such as the European Union, will be placed in a more advantageous position in the transition from a unipolar to a bipolar / multipolar world and, as a consequence, strengthen their own shaping role as leading powers in a multipolar world order.