China's Regional Relations in Comparative Perspective: From Harmonious Neighbors to Strategic Partners

China’s relations with its neighbors have evolved since 1949, and in the 21st century many scholars argue that China’s rising power has led it to be increasingly domineering over those smaller countries in Northeast, Southeast, Central, and South Asia. The evolution of China’s regional relations needs to be examined comprehensively, since China counts twenty-seven countries as its "neighbors" large and small. While China’s official policy toward all of these countries is to treat them as "g...