• Foreign Policy

Xing Guangcheng, a leading scholar on borderlands and Sino-Russian relations at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, argues U.S. strategy towards China has shifted from “engagement plus containment” to comprehensive containment, creating unprecedented challenges for China in its periphery. He urges China to “re-create” its peripheral environment by reshaping rather than merely preserving favorable conditions, with the Belt and Road Initiative as the key platform. Stressing the importance of soft power and people-to-people ties to counter the “China threat” narrative, Xing highlights SCO, ASEAN, and BRICS as “levers” for regional cooperation that can help China resist U.S. encirclement and achieve long-term rejuvenation.