China "striving for achievement" in the humanitarian space?

The scholarship on Chinese foreign policy has extensively discussed the shift from ‘keeping a low profile’ to ‘striving for achievement’ under President Xi Jinping. However, humanitarian engagement has been under-appreciated in the discussion. This article attempts to address this gap by examining how China’s humanitarian policy and actions have become different, which is pertinent to understanding the country’s changing international role. Drawing on the extant studies on foreign policy change, this article proposes a four-level framework to analyse changes in humanitarian policy, which include quantitative adjustment, program modification, goal change, and reorientation. The four levels do not have causal relations, but minor adjustments normally accompany the major ones. The analysis finds that there have been changes in terms of quantity, program, and goals but no reorientation in China’s humanitarian engagement. Specifically, quantitative variations suggest that China’s share in global humanitarian spending has not changed substantively, regardless of recent increases. Program modifications are most observable among the shifts, which indicate the growing importance of humanitarian aid as a diplomatic instrument. Minor adjustments in humanitarian policy goals reflect China’s cautiously active disposition to humanitarian work. The changes combined point to Beijing’s aspiration for moderate achievement in global humanitarian governance.